Liability
by Hanyou Lothuial
Summary: COMPLETE 4th Kokitsune saga. Chitsuko's new mission is to stop a group of Shinobi with a horrifying desire. Between getting captured and protecting her friends, can she help prevent an out of control revolt from becoming a full-out war?
1. Prologue The Second Assignment

Here we are! The fourth saga of our beloved Chitsuko-chan's story.  
  
Kokitsune was a cry for the truth, how quickly one's life can change and how imperitive it is to act when everything you love is in danger. It reinforces that "the truth shall set you free." But how free is "free," really?  
  
Deliverance clarified the true meaning of friendship and how the truest of friends are the best assets one can have. And when all else fails, there will always be a heart or two to tune yourself to, to break any spell of sadness, anger or pain.  
  
Revival taught us the selflessness of the mind and soul, and we viewed one's capacity to sacrifice oneself for loved ones. It shows that when someone is in trouble or pain, the people around them, the closest to them, are often hurt the most, and pure unbridled love and willingness to give everything up may just be the only way to protect them.  
  
And now we have reached Liability, a story of realizing and overcoming weakness, of terrible choices and horrifying decisions, of how the coldest and hardest of hearts can be warmed and softened. Chitsuko remains in Makai, and her next assignment is one that will surely teach a lesson to everyone. Has Makai really reached an era of peace under Lord Enki? Wherever one goes, there is always one mind that thinks different from the rest, one mind with opinions and thoughts that go against everything around them. But can these thoughts be considered evil? What is the truest evil, and how can it be stopped? Once again our favorite little fox has put her life on the line without a second thought to find this out and free Makai from what could be the most disastrous event in all its history...  
  
Read Liability with an open mind. It, like the other Kokitsune sagas, are more than just words. Between the lines lies a message, a message we can all learn and take to heart. I will leave it to you to interpret it as you may.  
  
Ai, ^^  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Prologue: The Second Assignment - A Change In Plans  
  
The sun was directly overhead, suspended in the clear blue sky of Makai. Not a bird or animal could be heard chirping or squeaking in the silent wilderness. The trees with their waxy green leaves were rustled by no breeze, and the air lay still and warm. A stream wound its way through the spaced trees, its water cool and quiet, crystal clear and inviting.  
  
A girl with long, wavy golden-brown hair regarded the stream with stormy blue-gray eyes as she walked through the trees, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She wore a pair of jeans and a tight black tank top that caught the sun's rays and heated her body, much to her discomfort. She made her way to the water's edge and dropped her backpack beside her as she stared down at her reflection. She smiled ruefully at her reflection; several days of walking and sleeping on the ground had dusted her body with dirt. A few small scratches were crusted with dried blood, and grass stains streaked her clothing.  
  
The sight of her reflection was all she needed. Swiftly she removed her clothing and undergarments and disposed of them beside her backpack. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she slipped into the water with a content sigh.  
  
It was brief, serene times like this that made being a Spirit Detective not seem so bad for Chitsuko Ichihara. She let the cool water wash over her as she sunk into the stream, rubbing away the dirt and blood until her limbs were clean and smooth. As she plunged her head into the water to wash the dirt out of her hair, she ran over the next assignment Koenma had given her.  
  
The Reikai ruler had seemed shocked to suddenly hear from her after so long. He had reaffirmed what Suzuki and the others had told her: there was no longer a barrier between Makai and Ningenkai, and the Demon World had entered sort of an era of peace under the new Lord Enki. Chitsuko hadn't met him, but from what she heard he was kind and ruled wisely.  
  
Koenma had asked her to take up a job with the Shinobi tribes of Makai. A group of the undercover crime-stopped youkai had gone renegade under a disgruntled tribesmen by the name of Yokozuki. He had lead quite a few Shinobi astray with his preaching of youkai superiority, and the group had converted into a sort of human-hunting occult. It didn't help that the barriers were down, either; there had already been two reports of Shinobi attempting to cross into Ningenkai, but without success, due to some loyal tribe members who knew what they were doing was wrong.  
  
Chitsuko had been assigned to join one of the tribes, the same tribe that her friends Jin and Touya belonged to. They didn't have anyone with powers quite as exceptional as Chitsuko's in the plant or spirit energy fields, so they had been more than willing to allow her company.  
  
Finally the girl was clean. She let out a small chuckle of satisfaction and stood up in the stream, the water coming to just below her waist. She bent over and cupped her hands, scooping up some water and bringing it to her lips to drink.  
  
"Freeze where you are, ningen."  
  
Chitsuko could do nothing by obey.  
  
The voice was deep and sharp, like the blade of an axe. The girl paused with her hands still to her lips and let the water drain through her fingers. Slowly, she turned her head, a few limp wet strands of hair obscuring her vision, to view the speaker.  
  
On either side of the stream stood a row of frightening-looking youkai, all wearing some type of heavy steel armor. Only a few carried weapons, and their faces, the few that were visible anyway, were set and grave, their eyes piercing and cold as they stared unblinking at Chitsuko. The girl shivered, but did not whimper. Standing there in the middle of a stream, completely naked, surrounding by a dozen large men with even larger auras of spirit energy, she had never felt more vulnerable in her life. However, she was not afraid. She had fought groups of youkai bigger than this, and at that point in her life she thought she had seen just about anything, and could take on just about anything she set her mind to.  
  
"Ningen?" she asked calmly. They had addressed her as a ningen. What did they know.  
  
"Silence." One of them stepped forward. He was large and muscular with plates and gauntlets of armor covering his chest and arms. He wore no mask, and his short hair was a bright, flaming red. His eyes were a dark brown, and they regarded Chitsuko with an unreadable expression. "You are to come with us."  
  
Chitsuko drew herself up to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest, partially to hide her exposed breasts. "I don't have time to play. I've got something to do."  
  
His stare grew colder and harder. He motioned to one of the soldiers standing next to him. The soldier crossed to Chitsuko's backpack, scooped it up in his arms along with her clothes, and tossed them all to the girl in the stream. She quickly caught them before they could hit the water; it wouldn't do to have only wet clothes to wear for a day or two.  
  
"If you don't want to be dragged away naked I suggest you put your clothes on now," said the youkai who had first addressed her. "It looks like there has been a change of plans for you, ningen. You are coming with us." 


	2. Chapter 1 Mukuro

I told you all I'd be getting this next saga up fast. =^^=  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 1: Mukuro  
  
The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and still the captive was showing no signs of fatigue.  
  
General Itami turned to look back at the young ningen girl they had found in the stream. Two of his soldiers held her by the arms while several more of them had formed a circle around them, preventing any chance of the girl's escape. The rest of his soldiers trailed behind in rows of three, their weapons leaning on their shoulders, ready for use. Itami was too preoccupied with the girl herself to notice the other stares she had attracted from his men.  
  
She was walking with her eyes seemingly closed, her head slightly bowed, as though she were resting. And yet her legs continued to pump, keeping her in step with the soldiers. She had not tripped nor stumbled once since her capture, and unlike most of their ningen hostages, she had quickly dressed herself and succumbed without a struggle or panic.  
  
She wasn't a normal human.  
  
Every ningen that had unknowingly crossed into the Demon World had immediately panicked, thrashing and shouting upon capture, usually causing serious injury to themselves in the process. Any traces or memories of Makai were wiped from their memories once their wounds had been tended, and after that they were quickly sent back to Ningenkai. But this girl had no shown any sign of fear, and if she was afraid at all she was very good at hiding it. However, it wasn't just her attitude that made him wonder. It was her spirit energy.  
  
Itami was sure that the other soldiers could feel it as well. Her aura pushed at them like a tidal wave, itching to knock them over with one fell swoop. Her spirit energy was pulsing in her veins, and with every heartbeat of hers, her power throbbed along with it. It was as though her power ran through her very veins, and even at this point the general could not tell just how much power she truly possessed.  
  
But Itami knew the chances she had, the chances she had of survival once they brought her to their master. Her memory might have to be cleared, or, for the good of Makai and Ningenkai, she may have to be destroyed altogether.  
  
Death seemed like the only logical answer at this point.  
  
Itami turned to face front again as he led his men over the last stretch of barren ground. In front of them stood a large stone structure, much like a castle or palace, made of smooth black granite. Towers and turrets jutted skyward out of many of the building's extended wings, large glass windows set into its sides near the top levels. Shooting up from the center of the castle was the largest tower, topped with a circle of windows indicating a wide room. It was to these windows that Itami's eyes wandered. It was to that room that she would be taken, to await her fate...  
  
He looked back at her one last time. For the first time since her capture, she opened her eyes and met his gaze. There was a glint in her eyes, a shimmer of something that lay beneath her innocent exterior. Something strong.... Something dangerous...  
  
Quickly he turned away. He could still feel her eyes boring into the back of his head as the large doors of the castle swung open to admit the soldiers inside.  
  
They entered a spacious entrance hall, lit with an array of torches on the wall. Large sets of doors we set into the walls on either side of them. Itami turned to his soldiers and addressed them.  
  
"You are dismissed." As the soldiers holding the girl let go of her and walked away, the general held her to the spot with his eyes, daring her to move or run away.  
  
To his great surprise, she did neither. She merely stared back at him, just as hard and just as coldly.  
  
"Hmph." A smirk crossed his face. "You're not a normal little girl are you?"  
  
"Define 'normal'," was the calm retort.  
  
Itami didn't answer her, but motioned for her to come with him. She obeyed, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings and drinking in every detail. She walked beside him, almost in step, although her smaller size made her walk slightly faster to keep up with his large strides. He noticed this and laughed.  
  
"For a little human girl, your spirit energy certainly feels... developed."  
  
"Everyone says that." She glanced up at him, then returned her gaze to its wandering path around the hall.  
  
Itami led her to an open doorway towards the end of the hall. They passed through into a room completely empty except for a stairwell in one corner. They crossed to it and ascended the steps, the girl lagging two or three steps behind the general. The climb was long and hard, almost as brutal as the walk to the castle. The staircase led straight up at a steep angle, and much to Itami's amusement the girl nearly fell backwards twice. But each time she recovered herself and continued determinedly up the stairs, her face set and resolute.  
  
At last Itami brought her to another open floor. The walls, ceiling, and floor were still made of the same black granite the outside of the castle was made of, and torches still dotted the walls. Open doorways, devoid of any doors or curtains to cover them, lined the high corridor. Itami led her down the hall, glancing at her every now and then to check that she had not left him.  
  
She hadn't. Her gaze had wandered into the rooms, where she glimpsed infirmaries and clusters of youkai crowded around rows of beds, some carrying feeding utensils, others bandages, and still others sharp metal instruments that seemed only suitable for anatomical operations. Itami noticed the girl shudder slightly, but still she did not seem to fear the sudden change of environment.  
  
But what he didn't know was that Chitsuko Ichihara was indeed afraid. She simply chose to hide it very well. She wondered where she was. A prison? A hospital? A cruel youkai version of a morgue? Or perhaps...  
  
The building reminded her of the ones in Yomi's city. Was she being taken to Yomi? Or was she about to be subjected to the presence of another Makai lord or ex-lord, another youkai of great power and prestige?  
  
And why did everyone insist she was a ningen?  
  
"Watch where you're going, ningen."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
THUNK.  
  
Chitsuko had walked straight into a solid wall.  
  
She struggled to compose herself and fight the flush of embarassment that rushed into her cheeks as Itami laughed at her. She had been so caught up in her thoughts and viewing of this place that she hadn't given a thought to where she was going. Of course this youkai wasn't going to guide her like Hokushin did. Hokushin had been nice enough to carry her on his back for a portion of her trip to Yomi's city. He had been nice. He had cared. And this youkai didn't seem to give a crap about what happened to her.  
  
Chitsuko growled low in her throat and followed the laughing general through another doorway and up another steep staircase. This time she watched her feet; at least now she wouldn't trip and make herself look like a complete idiot.  
  
By the time they reached the top of the next stairwell, Chitsuko's legs felt like jelly. She had been walking without rest all day. But if she stopped now, she would only look weak. The girl took a deep breath and steeled herself; she would endure what she had to, if it meant proving herself worthy in the eyes of these strange youkai.  
  
"Are you tired yet, ningen?"  
  
"Stop calling me a ningen."  
  
Itami's eyebrow shot up. "A liar now, are we?"  
  
"Only half a liar." Chitsuko shot Itami a sharp glance, stabbing him with her crystalline gaze before she turned away and headed towards the set of double doors at the end of the new corridor.  
  
It took a moment for Itami to full comprehend her words. "You are a half-breed, then?"  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
He chuckled. Slowly he walked towards her, his footsteps sounding on the granite floor as he approached her. He could feel her spirit energy swirling around her as she was alerted of the potential danger she was in. So she had a strong spirit awareness. He stopped when he was standing in front of her, his back now to her.  
  
"Follow me."  
  
He heard her footsteps as she obeyed. Leaning on the doors, he thrust all his weight upon them and pushed until they swung open.  
  
Four pairs of eyes turned to stare in Itami's direction, but flinched when they saw the girl standing next to him. There was a soft murmuring as the four youkai conversed amongst themselves. They sat at chairs around a long, oval table made of the same black granite as the rest of the castle. But one chair at the far end of the table remained facing the windows, its black back obscuring its owner from view. The heavy doors shut behind Chitsuko, closing her into this room with several frightening-looking demons.  
  
"You brought us another one? AWAKE?" a youkai with touseled gray hair and green eyes said as he stood up, his eyes locking on Chitsuko.  
  
"We found her this way," Itami replied, striding into the room until he was close enough to lean on the table. "She was bathing in a stream."  
  
A hand slithered around Chitsuko's head and through her hair. She tensed up, her eyes wide as her head snapped around to face the youkai touching her. Pale blue eyes shone through a heavily bandaged face, and his exposed neck and arms under his black tunic were bandaged as well. "She doesn't FEEL like a ningen..."  
  
"Well she is."  
  
There was a dead silence. And then a voice sounded from behind the last chair.  
  
"Let me see her."  
  
"Very well, Mukuro..."  
  
Itami sat down. The last chair swiveled around to reveal a young woman who looked to be no older than twenty-five. She wore a regal olive green shirt under a lavendar tunic and tan pants. Her auburn hair was cropped just below her ears and parted on the side. One half of her face was entire covered by a ragged gray cloth, but the other half was smooth and clear, revealing the woman's beauty. Her visible eye was a twinkling orchid, while the other was covered by a circular eyeglass.  
  
Chitsuko's breath caught in her throat. The woman looked regal, and her could feel her spirit energy even from where she stood in the doorway. But her experience with Makai rulers had not prepared her for this. Yomi had looked kind, and certainly he was. To her, at least. This woman looked dangerous, almost deadly, and a cold sense of great power lay over the castle like a winter chill.  
  
The woman, Mukuro, did not smile as she stood up and moved around the table towards her. "Who are you?" Her voice was rich and strong.  
  
"Chitsuko Ichihara."  
  
Mukuro stopped when she was only several feet away from Chitsuko. "Come here."  
  
Hesitantly, Chitsuko took a few steps forward, her eyes locked warily on Mukuro. "What do you want with me?"  
  
The female youkai chuckled. "You are a ningen. You don't belong here. It is my crew's job to find ningens that unknowingly cross into Makai, and it is MY job to decide what happens to them."  
  
"Makai is a dangerous place. Why would the barriers be taken down?" Chitsuko inquired.  
  
Mukuro's smile faded. "You seem to know a great deal about Makai, Chitsuko Ichihara. That will count against you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now what shall we do? We can't have you running back to Ningenkai and telling everyone about Makai. I suppose you know of Reikai too?"  
  
"Who doesn't?"  
  
"Plenty of people." The woman's eyes grew hard, almost worried. "Were all of Ningenkai to know about Reikai, the Spirit World would not be able to function, and therefore we would all be in danger. It is you who may upset this delicate balance with your knowledge..." She walked forward until she was a foot away from the girl. "What do you with you?"  
  
"Wipe her memory," said Itami as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. "We can send her back to Ningenkai and she won't rememebr a thing..."  
  
"Make her your slave!" the gray-haired youkai suggested with a wry grin. "We can put her to good use..."  
  
"I'm not going to enslave her for your personal pleasure, Kagashi. Even if she is rather pretty," Mukuro replied without looking at him.  
  
Chitsuko didn't know whether to take Mukuro's words as a compliment or an excuse to not keep her. The youkai sulked and turned his face away to look out the window.  
  
"I SAY WE KILL HER!" The youkai who had felt her hair screeched with glee and clapped his hands. "The Makai Bujutsukkai left me unsatisfied! Let's see some blood!"  
  
Chitsuko cringed and looked at Mukuro, scanning her face for any signs of taking this suggestion. For a moment the misstress looked as though she might go through with it; she uncrossed her arms and stood up straight, her eyes narrowing slightly as she scrutinized Chitsuko. The girl braced herself and stared back, pressing her mouth into a thin line and clenching her fists.  
  
Suddenly the doors swung open behind her and soft footsteps sounded on the floor. Chitsuko, her body nervous and tensed, couldn't bring herself to turn around. Instead she remained staring at Mukuro, breathing as quietly as possibly and trying desperately to keep from trembling.  
  
Mukuro stared over Chitsuko's head, motioning for the newcomer to step further into the room. "We seem to be having a dilemna: Itami brought us this ningen girl, and it appears she knows far more than she should... What do you say? Kill her, wipe her memory, or put her to good use? Her fate is in your hands." She smiled mirthfully. "You tell us..."  
  
There was no answer from the newcomer, causing rage to well up in Chitsuko's heart. If they were going to try and kill her, then she would fight them. She would fight them all, beat them down, blow them up, until there was nothing left. She had a mission from King Enma that she had to fulfill, and no blow-hard blood-thirsty youkai were going to stand in her way.  
  
Angrily she turned around to face the person Mukuro had spoken to, the person who currently held her life in her hands...  
  
A black cloak was set over a small, yet musular frame. Hands we shoved in pockets, and raven black hair was spiked upwards with a white starburst-shape in the front. Two orbs of ruby red met Chitsuko's own eyes, and above them both, set in the middle of the forehead, was another eye of soft violet.  
  
Chitsuko's heart stopped and her voice came out as a high-pitched shriek.  
  
"HIEI!" 


	3. Chapter 2 Jaganshi

NOTE: The song used in this chapter is "Bright Soliloquy," a song I wrote AND composed intending it to be Chitsuko's image song for Revival. I never got around to writing image songs for Kokitsune and Deliverance... Perhaps on a rainy day, once everything else is finished. As I was racking my brain for a song for the girl to sing, I was flipping through my little red journal (which contains any and all of my fanfiction ideas; it's quite filled at this point) when I came across the song. So I decided to use it.  
  
If you like "Bright Soliloquy," you may want to go check out the image song I wrote for Karasu (who sadly did not get one on any of the Yu Yu Hakusho Music Battle CDs, much to my disappointment -.-), "Deadly Touch ~Heartbreak Explosion~".  
  
If you like Karasu, then go check out "Deadly Touch ~Heartbreak Explosion~".  
  
If you like Karasu AND "Bright Soliloquy," then go check out "Deadly Touch ~Heartbreak Explosion~".  
  
If you just like my writing, go check out "Deadly Touch ~Heartbreak Explosion~" anyway.  
  
I think you get the point. =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 2: Jaganshi  
  
Six pairs of demonic eyes were turned on Chitsuko. Her frantic surprise was obvious to the entire room; her eyes were bright and looked as though they would fall right out of her head. Her body had gone rigid and she seemed to have forgotten to breathe, for she suddenly heaved a great gasp, the harsh intake just as sharp as her scream.  
  
But she wasn't the only surprised one in the room.  
  
Heads turned to stare at Hiei. The Jaganshi's body was tenser than Chitsuko's, and his mouth hung slightly open. His own wide eyes were locked on Chitsuko, their gaze slowly trailing up and down her figure several times before stopping to rest on her face.   
  
His mind was racing. Chitsuko?! What is she doing here? But... but HOW?! Koenma told us she was... told us she was...  
  
Chitsuko gasped again, and the other youkai saw Hiei start and let out a quick, soft moan. They watched as the Jaganshi moved slowly, in a way they had never seen before, and lift a hand to the captive's face. When he recoiled it just as slowly, something small glinted like a diamond on his finger.  
  
God damn you! the Jaganshi scolded silently as he took a step back from her, suddenly realizing what he had just done, and in front of a room of bloodythirsty youkai nontheless. Why did you have to go and cry...?  
  
"Hiei?" Mukuro, a look of wild bewilderment on her face, quickly crossed over to the girl and Jaganshi. She glanced down at Hiei's hand, and the little youkai, seeing this, quickly stuffed it back into his cloak pocket. "I've never see you act this way, Hiei..." The woman shifted to stand beside Hiei and reached out to take the girl's face and tilt it upwards.  
  
The girl looked back at Mukuro, her eyes still bright and filled with shock, along with a longing for something the youkai could not place. But now the girl was crying, and soft tears were rolling silently down her cheeks.  
  
"Why do you cry?" Mukuro released Chitsuko's face somewhat roughly and stepped back to look her over once more. She folded her arms over her chest and chuckled ruefully. "What is it is Hiei? Do you know this girl?"  
  
"No." Hiei quickly turned his face away to avoid Chitsuko's eyes. He knew he was hurting her by saying this, but both of them would be in greater danger if he admitted that he knew her. But what he still couldn't understand was what she was doing here, of all places...  
  
It had been over a year since Koenma called them all into his office to announce the girl's death. Out of all of them, Kurama had no doubt taken it the hardest. They had been in the middle of their battle with Sensui and his henchmen at the time, and after the news Kurama's hearts just hadn't been in the battles. Sure, he had fought to the best of his potential, but anything he did or spoke lacked his typical display of emotions. He had grown cold, although he kept up a warm facade for his human mother, stepfather and stepbrother. Even Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the others hadn't been able to see through the fox's clever act.  
  
Only Hiei knew the truth of the pain inside the youko's heart. Only Hiei had been able to fully understand Kurama's emotional torment. It had been Hiei, on that cold winter night when he had crept up to Kurama's house and perched himself on the ledge, who had heard the kitsune cry, listened to the quiet sobs, the shattering of the youko's heart breaking in a thousand tiny pieces. It was Hiei who had sat through it all, and listened as Kurama cried himself to sleep, a sleep plagued with nightmares of his lost love.  
  
It was not like Kurama to cry. Hiei had never known him to. And Yusuke had said that the only time he had ever seen Kurama shed a tear was when Shiori made a full recovery from her disease. Kurama did not seem like the type of person who would cry. He was the infamous theif, Youko Kurama, who shoved no mercy and knew no love.  
  
It was Ningenkai that had changed him. Ningenkai and the stupid humans who lived there. They had softened him. They had changed him for the worse...  
  
But why, after befriending the very girl that stood before him now, did he feel that he could identify with the fox?  
  
"Hiei?" Mukuro asked again.  
  
The Jaganshi was pulled away from his thoughts and quickly turned to face Mukuro. He lookd up at her with his usual blank, set expression, letting no thoughts or signs of remote emotion betray him.  
  
Mukuro's half a smile alerted him of the danger and he remembered what she had asked him when he first walked in.  
  
"Well, Hiei? What are we going to do with her?"  
  
Chitsuko opened her mouth to say something obviously nasty to Mukuro, but a stern look from Hiei made her shut it. She heard his voice in her mind and almost immediately her fears began to quell.  
  
Don't say a word... I'll take care of you...  
  
Hiei glanced over at the other youkai in the room. They glared hungrily at Chitsuko; Hiei could tell what they wanted. Mukuro was surveying the girl with calm amusment. She seemed to be deeply curious as to who... or what... the girl really was. After all, she was no normal ningen... if she really was one...  
  
Itami caught Hiei's eye. The fire-haired youkai narrowed his eyes and his lips curled in a sneer. Hiei's did not react, but merely glared coldly back at him. The Jaganshi had never liked Itami. The man had secretly developed feelings for Mukuro and would do anything for her, blindly doing her bidding like a lovesick puppy. But he didn't hate the general for his ningen-like affections. He hated him because he was honing in on Hiei's job, ready to oust from his cheif position beside Mukuro when the perfectly opportunity struck. The Jaganshi knew that he undoubtly deserved the position alot more than Itami, and he did everything in his power to quietly keep the youkai in check.  
  
Itami would do just about anything to prove Hiei's judgement and abilities faulty and leap into his place beside Mukuro. He would do anything...  
  
And then the Jaganshi had his answer.  
  
"Make her fight."  
  
There was a short silence in which Chitsuko looked as though she were going to attack Hiei and rip him to shreds. She looked indignant, almost panicked. Again Hiei slipped into her mind to speak to her.  
  
What? Don't trust me?  
  
To his surprise, he heard her thoughts form a coherent answer.  
  
I trust you...  
  
"Of COURSE? Why didn't I think of that?!" the youkai with gray hair screeched with a laugh.  
  
"Because you're stupid," another demon with two massive horns on either side of his bald yellowed head replied.  
  
"Fight?" Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."  
  
"Have her fight one of your generals." Hiei's Jagan flickered slightly and he looked sideways at Itami. "Let her prove herself to be worthy of living. If she loses, then she will be dead. No mess, no fuss. If she wins, they she is truly powerful indeed and can be used to our benefit."  
  
The woman youkai considered this for a minute, silently surveying Chitsuko once more. After a long moment her face cracked in a smile and she said, "I like how you think Hiei." She turned to the rest of the room. "It has been decided: the girl will fight. All we need to do is chosen an opponent..."  
  
"She will fight me." Itami stepped up to Mukuro and bowed slightly in reverence. He shot a menacing look in Hiei's direction, completely avoiding looking at Chitsuko altogether.  
  
"Very well." Mukuro nodded her approval, then started towards the doors. "Itami, be ready to fight the girl at sunrise tomorrow. Hiei..." she turned to look at him, "Chitsuko will be sleeping in your chambers tonight. Do not let her out of your sight until her battle tomorrow morning."  
  
"Yes Mukuro." Hiei nodded to her.  
  
She smiled at him, then pushed open the doors and disappeared out into the corridor. A second after her departure, Itami was in Hiei's ear.  
  
"I'm going to get you this time, Jaganshi. And when I do I'm going to expose you and this disgusting human girl. Don't think I haven't noticed the tension between you two... Don't think I didn't see the look in your eyes when you first saw her..." He stepped away from him and rounded on Chitsuko, a wicked grin on his face. "And YOU... You little half-breed. I can sense the youkai power within you. It's not that hard... I'm sure Mukuro has sensed it already. We HATE your kind. You don't belong here, or in Ningenkai, or anywhere for that matter... You disgusting little urchin..." His voice became lower and lower until it was barely a hissing whisper. "I'm going to kill you tomorrow morning. There is no escape..."  
  
And without another word he turned on his heel and left, closely followed by the other four youkai. They hadn't heard his threats to the Jaganshi and the girl. Their visible confusion at the unheard conversation shown on their faces as they exited in the general's wake.  
  
Hiei glared after Itami, then turned to Chitsuko. She was slightly pale, and her hands were clasped in front of her chest.  
  
"Don't be afraid, Chitsuko," he said plainly, his expression blank.  
  
The girl, her face dry and her own expression set, replied, "I'll try."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Do you mind?"  
  
Chitsuko abruptly stopped humming and turned to look back into the darkened room at Hiei. She was standing on a balcony that connected to the Jaganshi's room. A cool summer night breeze blew around her, picking up her clothes and hair. In one hand she held her polished sword, the other rested on the balistrade railing.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Would you stop humming?" Hiei said from his spot on the large bed. He settled himself down on his back amidst the black sheets and tucked his hands behind his head.  
  
The hanyou rolled her eyes. "That's what you said to me the FIRST time..."  
  
The little youkai sighed and closed his eyes. "What do you mean?"  
  
"That's what you said to me the first time we met..."  
  
Of course Hiei knew what she meant. He remembered that day all too well: He had watched as she had been introduced to Kuwabara and Kurama by Yusuke. She had then sensed his presence and proceeded to climb up the tree and into his life. He remembered her soft humming as she hoisted herself upwards through the branches, very softly and sweetly...  
  
He scoffed, half at himself, half at Chitsuko. "Why don't you try putting some words to it instead of that horrible buzzing noise."  
  
The girl blinked, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully. "Like singing?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"What if I can't sing?"  
  
"Well we'll find out now, won't we?"  
  
The kitsune slowly turned around towards the balistrade once more. She set her katana down on the balcony floor and laid both her hands on the railing. The girl gazed out over Makai, the moon shining like a bright white opal above it all, casting an erie glow on the forests and plains. This place is misleading... she thought to herself. Who knew so much danger could stem from such a beautiful place?   
  
Chitsuko turned to look at Hiei. The Jaganshi seemed to be fast asleep on the bed. She sighed softly, turned back to Makai, took a deep, gentle breath and opened her mouth...  
  
"No one said that life was easy...  
  
No one said that life was fair..."  
  
The words that came to Chitsuko's mind tumbled from her lips smoothly and sweetly, flowing like a clear stream through a forest.  
  
"No one ever told me what I'd find...  
  
I never asked to come here..."  
  
Hiei's eyes opened.  
  
"Fate works in strange ways...  
  
Isn't it funny?  
  
I had no choice, and here I am...  
  
At your side.  
  
Some say that love is blind,  
  
But I know otherwise..."  
  
Slowly, Hiei turned his head to look at Chitsuko's silhouette, framed against the moon and starlight.  
  
"Don't let pain overcome you.  
  
Everything will be alright again.  
  
Don't les sadness take you.  
  
Everything will end okay.  
  
The sun won't set on grief,  
  
The dawn will bring my love to you..."  
  
Hiei swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up.  
  
"I've known my fair share of pain.  
  
I know loss and sadness  
  
Just as well I know hope.  
  
Trust to hope, hold your head high...  
  
Darkness isn't permanent,  
  
It gives way to light.  
  
If there's one thing I've learned,  
  
It's that there is always a tomorrow.  
  
Hold on tight,  
  
You're not alone..."  
  
Hiei took slow steps towards the balcony, his eyes focused on Chitsuko's back. As he got closer, the night wind reached him, touseling his hair and running over his bare chest and arms, tickling the lid of his Jagan.  
  
"Don't let pain overcome you.  
  
Everything will be alright again.  
  
Don't les sadness take you.  
  
Everything will end okay.  
  
The sun won't set on grief,  
  
The dawn will bring my love to you..."  
  
Hiei moved to stand beside Chitsuko, setting his own hands on the railing. His gaze shifted to the skies, the twinkling stars catching themselves in his gaze and making his ruby red eyes shimmer with light and untold sorrows.  
  
"Fate works in strange ways..." Chitsuko managed to choke out as her own gaze dropped and she closed her eyes against a fresh wave of tears. "Isn't it... funny..."   
  
The two of them stood silently for a long moment. Hiei turned to look at her. The girl who always looked so strong and happy seemed to have been worn down in an instant. She looked like the same frightened child he had met that day almost three years ago, lonely and afraid of what was happening around her.  
  
"Chitsuko."  
  
The girl lifted her head to look up at him, and all traces of the child vanished. The moonshine lit up her eyes like blue fire, and the tears sliding down her cheeks did nothing to blur their brightness. Her hands clenched into fists on the railing and she shifted so she was facing him completely. She was a woman now, her ningen body being at least eighteen.  
  
No, she was not a woman.  
  
She was a demon.  
  
Hiei searched his mind for a response, and only came up with one. "Nice singing."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Want to train a bit before tomorrow morning?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Are you positive?"  
  
"Yes. I think I've learned to handle myself in battle well enough."  
  
"Hn. So long as you don't bleed we all should be fine."  
  
Chitsuko smiled, and as she picked up her katana and entered the bedroom once more, the Jaganshi directed a secret smile at her retreating form. 


	4. Chapter 3 The Fight

Sorry for the lack of update here, people! I've been up to my eyeballs in auditions and rehersals and performances and GAH. @.@ Just finished up as Sarah Siddons in The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang, and am starting on Allison in a stage version of the Breakfast Club. ^^;; I'm wiped... But my homework load has... dare I say it... died down a bit ::knocks on wood:: and I should be able to get more chapters out.  
  
KAERU SOYOKAZE POSTED THE THIRD BOOK OF HER STORY! ::DANCES:: GO AND READ IT! NOW!!!  
  
And now, THE BATTLE BETWEEN CHITSUKO AND ITAMI, WOOOOT! ::falls off chair::  
  
ENJOY! =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 3: The Fight  
  
Chitsuko was up well before sunrise. Two hours of sleep was sufficient enough for her. For all she knew, she would never sleep again and needed to fill her time wisely, more or less with hard thinking. Battle strategies. Tatics. Back up plans in case one of her attacks failed.  
  
What would happen if she didn't win.  
  
She knew that if she lost, it would be by death. Itami would rip open her ningen body and probably pride himself in watching her blood splash everywhere...  
  
And that was where the danger lay.  
  
Her blood. If she died, she couldn't let any of them go anywhere near her blood. But, being dead, she couldn't do anything about it. If her power was placed in the wrong hands, there was no telling what havoc could reaked on the thee realms.  
  
She needed to win. At all costs.  
  
As the night sky begin to lighten and the stars disappeared, Chitsuko slid off the futon in the corner of Hiei's large room and crawled over to her backpack. She quietly opened it and extracted her sword, carefully setting it down next to her before her hand dove back into the pack.  
  
Next she pulled out a small, badly creased photograph. She gazed down a it and a small, sad smile crossed her face. It was a picture of her and Kurama, taken shortly before she left Ningenkai what seemed like an eternity ago. She was sitting on a swing and he was behind her, holding her, smiling...  
  
"I miss you, Kurama." Chitsuko hugged the photograph briefly to her chest then slid it into the cup of her bra. She would feel more confident in battle if she believed that Kurama was still with her, still hers...  
  
Swiftly and silently, so as not to disturb the sleeping Hiei, Chitsuko removed her black shirt and jeans and changed into a short red tunic trimmed with gold and a pair of soft white pants and long-sleeved shirt of the same color. The clothing had been given to her as a gift by Yomi and Shura on a last visit to their city. Yomi was one of the few demons in Makai who saw something in her. He respected her for the power he felt deep within her and for rescuing his son from a murderous kidnapping. Yomi was also very friendly because he knew her connection with Kurama, and she sensed that he knew that connection was deeper than she conveyed it to be.  
  
"Hn. Never seen you in that before."  
  
"You're awake."  
  
Chitsuko took up her katana and stood as Hiei swung himself out of bed. The youkai yawned and rubbed his eyes, and his short stature made him look like a small child awaking from a pleasant dream. The girl giggled as she watched him pull his long black cloak over his head and stick his arms through the sleeves.  
  
"What's so amusing?"  
  
"Nothing." Chitsuko, smiling, shook her head and crossed over to the open balcony. Without walking out into the crisp morning air, she surveyed the brightening sky with a mix of apprehension and resolution. "It's just about dawn."  
  
"We better get outisde then."  
  
"Outside?"  
  
"To the training grounds. That is where you will fight Itami."  
  
Chitsuko nodded and turned around. She was startled to find that Hiei had moved directly behind her without a noise, and she was now looking down into his set ruby-red eyes.  
  
"Chitsuko. You must beat Itami."  
  
"I know, I'll die if I don't and he'll tell everyone that we know each other..."  
  
"No. It's not just that. He's a fool. A pompous, ignorant fool. He doesn't deserve to be in Mukuro's service and he is a threat to everyone in this order. You need to kill him for the good of everyone else..." He turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way towards the door. "You and I are not the only ones who hate him. Mukuro would kill him herself if she didn't think he was such a strong and valuable asset to her cause."  
  
"Her... cause?" Chitsuko tilted her head thoughtfully to one side and followed Hiei across the room. "What is her cause, anyway? What do you all work for?"  
  
Hiei stopped and turned to look at her out of the corner of one bright eye. "That will be explained to you if you win. WHEN you win."  
  
Chitsuko nodded, then slipped out into the long, dark granite corridor behind the Jaganshi.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Mukuro tapped her foot anxiously on the hard ground. Where was Hiei? And the captive girl, Chitsuko? It was several minutes past sunrise, and her, Itami, and a handful of her regiment had already assembled in the middle of the training grounds. A large circle of earth had been cleared of grass, leaving nothing but dirt to mark the area in which the battle would take place.  
  
Itami stood close by, strapping armor onto his ankles and forearms. Mukuro glanced at him and chuckled. "What's the armor for? You don't actually think this girl to be a threat?"  
  
"I'm not letting her go down easy. I have plans for her," the general replied.  
  
"Surely this isn't another one of your little attempts to impress me?"  
  
Itami looked away, avoiding his mistress's eye.  
  
"And surely you felt the girl's spirit energy? It's stronger than yours, without a doubt. If I were you, I would drop the armor. It's only going to slow you down."  
  
The general mumbled something inaubible and strapped on the last gauntlet.  
  
"There they are!" One of the youkai soldiers on the edge of the circle of dirt pointed in the direction of the granite castle. He looked frantically from his mistress to the approaching figures.  
  
Hiei and Chitsuko walked in step towards the congregation of youkai. The girl was dressed in a rather lavish-looking tunic and carried a katana, its freshly-polished blade shimmering in the early light. Hiei's own katana was in the sheath at his side, and his Jagan glowed steadily on his forehead.  
  
Once they reached the edge of the circle, the youkai parted to let them through to Mukuro. Chitsuko ignored the stares of curiousity and digust and marched up the woman with a determined face.  
  
To his surprise, Mukuro smiled. "Are you ready, Chitsuko Ichihara."  
  
Chitsuko glanced sideways at Hiei, then nodded.  
  
Mukuro nodded back then motioned towards the empty circle of dirt. "General Itami, Chitsuko Ichihara... Take your places on opposite sides of the ring."  
  
The crowd of demons moved back and fanned out all along the edge of the circle. Itami stepped into the circle and she took her place across from him, sprinting to the other side quickly. A murmur went up among Mukuro's group. To them the girl seemed eager to fight, a bit too over-confident, even...  
  
Mukuro raised her arms, signaling for everyone's attention. "This battle will be fought using the same rules followed in the Ankoku Bujutsukkai. If one of the fighters is out of the ring for more than ten seconds, they have lost. If they stay down for ten seconds after an attack, they have lost. Any weapons, attacks, and methods are allowed. There will be no mercy."  
  
Chitsuko swallowed hard and looked towards Hiei. He was standing beside Mukuro, a dwarf in comparison to her. He neither moved nor blinked at he looked at her, but his Jagan gave a slight pulse.  
  
At least she knew he had faith in her.  
  
She had to win. She just had to...  
  
"Fighters, draw your weapons..."  
  
Itami unhooked a large axe from a leather thong on his belt. He hefted the weapon, then held it up to the light, its sharp edges gleaming like stars. The hanyou swallowed again and brandished her sword in front of her with both hands.  
  
"...And BEGIN!"  
  
Chitsuko didn't have time to plan her first attack. Itami launched himself at her, raising his axe above his head as he ran at her. Knowing that her sword would not stand an offensive blow from the axe, especially with a man as strong-looking at Itami wielding it, she nimbly leapt to one side and away as the general brought the blade down into the hard soil.  
  
Dust flew everywhere, giving Chitsuko the oppotunity to back away from him as fast as she could. She would keep running, keep him occupied until she came up with a good attack plan...  
  
From out of the cloud of dust came a loud cry, followed by Itami, swinging his axe like a madman. His eyes were focused on Chitsuko, sparkling maliciously to match the wicked grin on his face.  
  
Chitsuko quickly dodged him again as another dust cloud flared up around the lowered weapon. This time she circled around him, keeping herself hidden by the flying dust but in a thin enough section of the cloud so that she could still track her position compared to his. She saw the general yank his axe from the ground and turned around, his hungry gaze searching for her. Quickly she skittered sideways, keeping behind him and treading lightly so her footfalls would make no noise. He stood still for a moment, his back still to her thanks to her quick manuevaring, obviously confused.  
  
In an instant Chitsuko closed the gap between her and the general and struck out with her sword.  
  
They was a clang of metal on metal as her katana hit one of his gauntlets.  
  
There was no time to scold herself for her stupid mistake. She darted through Itami's legs just as he spun around and swung his axe into the ground, thickening the dust cloud around them.  
  
"I can't see a damn thing!" one of the observing youkai shouted.  
  
So the audience couldn't see the show. Chitsuko spun around and thrust her sword at Itami, hoping to take advantage of the thick cloud cover and finish the fight...  
  
The katana made head-on contact with Itami's axe and shattered to pieces, leaving Chitsuko with nothing but a hilt.  
  
"Oh... crap..."  
  
Itami laughed with triumph and swung the blade at Chitsuko. The girl ducked and quickly ran away from him in the opposite direction, tossing her useless hilt to the ground as she fled.  
  
"Coward!" Itami shouted. He chased after her, his axe held high above his head. "You can't run forever, little half-breed!"  
  
"I know I can't..." Chitsuko whispered to herself as she batted away the dust clouds. Slowly the world around her came back into view. She was nearing the edge of the circle, where the grass met the dirt.  
  
And then the idea came to her.  
  
She dove for the grass, snatching up one green blade between her fingers as she sped away from Itami again. Chitsuko poured her energy into the blade, forming her next weapon as Itami readied himself for another attack. The roots twined around her fingers, steadying itself in her grip. The blade itself grew longer and wider, and its edge became razor sharp like that of her now-broken sword.  
  
Itami never saw it coming. She darted at him, her new weapon brandished, and swiftly slashed him across the face.  
  
A spray of blood followed the wake of her blade. She leapt back to get a good look at the general. Her attack was effective. She had opened a deep cut than ran from ear to ear on the youkai, and from the expression on his face he was absolutely shocked. Shocked that she had gotten such an attack in, and even more shocked at the weapon in her hands...  
  
"So..." Mukuro said quietly to Hiei as they watched on the sidelines. "She can control plants..."  
  
Hiei said nothing in response.  
  
"You... " Itami was furious now, his eyes bright with rage. "You! You'll pay for that one!"  
  
No I won't, the girl though. I've got a plan now...  
  
Itami ran at her once more, his axe high above his head. But this time the axe glowed with spirit energy. Itami's spirit energy. The light pulsed and flickered around the weapon, a menacing shade of blood red, crackling with small bolts of what looked like electricity.  
  
Chitsuko took a deep breath and ran to meet Itami in the center of the ring...  
  
"She's NUTS!" one watching youkai shouted, biting his nails from the suspense.  
  
"He's gonna kill her!" another screeched.  
  
"GO ITAMI!"  
  
"CUT OFF HER HEAD!"  
  
"SLICE HER IN TWO!"  
  
"Hmm..." Mukuro's eyes were locked on the girl as she ran towards Itami. "What could she be thinking?"  
  
"We shall see," Hiei said from beside her, his own gaze focused on Chitsuko.  
  
Mukuro raised an eyebrow, but did not turn to look at her accomplice.  
  
Itami lowered his axe when Chitsuko was less than a foot away from him. The huge blade crashed into the ground just as the girl leapt back, but with a price; her right leg was sliced from thigh to ankle, and a soft stream of blood began to soak through her pearly pants. Chitsuko leapt onto the blade of the weapon and ran up onto the handle as though it were a tightrope, just as the general swung his axe upwards at breakneck speed.  
  
Chitsuko's calculations were correct. She was flung into the air high above the battlefield, out of the clouds of dust and into the clear morning air. Itami, down below, looked slightly bewildered at Chitsuko's odd actions, then seemed to attempt to make the best of it. He held up his axe, the blade raised upwards. When the girl came crashing down, the sharp side of his weapon would be the one to catch her...  
  
But Chitsuko was one step ahead of him. Her plan was formulated, her intentions set. She flipped over in mid-air so that she was parallel to the ground, facing the arena below. She held her hands over her heart, and a small sphere of golden energy formed between them.  
  
"W-What's that?" youkai were shouting. "What is that up there? What is she DOING?"  
  
Itami seemed to be the only one who didn't notice.  
  
Hiei subconciously held his breath, and Mukuro's eyes widened as she watched the girl fall closer and closer to the ground...  
  
And then the ball of light grew fearsomely bright, and as it grew larger Chitsuko let the attack fly.  
  
"SPIRIT BOMBER!"  
  
The bomb of spirit energy hurled to the ground and struck the spot where Itami stood. There was a loud cry of anguish and then an eerie silence as a soft, steady rain began to pour down on the onlookers. Mukuro brushed the rain off her sleeve, only to discover that it wasn't rain...  
  
It was blood. Bright red blood.  
  
All eyes were turned on the arena. As the dust began to clear, the audience of youkai began to realize what had happened. Bits of cloth and armor were strewn all over the ground between puddles of bright red liquid, the remnants of the blood that had rained down on them. Bits of flesh and bone were scattered in the shallow pools.  
  
And in the middle of it all stood Chitsuko, her clothing slightly ripped, her long hair touseled, the grass blade sword still in one hand. The girl surveyed the damage around her, then slowly turned her face to meet Mukuro's eyes.  
  
The female youkai was silent for a long moment. The other demons looked at her, then at Chitsuko, appalled that this little girl had killed Mukuro's best general. All noise stopped as Mukuro walked forward to meet the girl in the center of the ring.  
  
"Well, Chitsuko Ichihara..." Mukuro said, smiling slightly. "You have truly proven yourself to be quite a formidable fighter. Welcome to my service." 


	5. Chapter 4 A New Partner

Sorry for the lack of updates. @.@  
  
I hate homework. x.x  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 4: A New Partner  
  
Mukuro wasted no time in giving Chitsuko her assignment.  
  
The woman explained to the girl what her group did: they took care of humans that accidentally crossed from Ningenkai into Makai. Since ningens were absolutely helpless against the hardships and dangers of the Demon World, it was the job of Mukuro and her regiment of generals and soldiers to find these humans, tend any wounds they may have, wipe their minds and send them back to Ningenkai unharmed and with no memory of Makai.  
  
Seeing that she was skilled with plants, Chitsuko was to do most of her work as a healer in the infirmaries of the castle. There the humans with the worst physical or mental damage were housed, most of them shifting between conciousness and unconciousness so often that they believed their entire stay in Makai to be nothing but a dream. Chitsuko was shown where the special herbs and potions were kept, the more common materials stored in cabinets that lined the walls of the infirmaries while the rarer plants and elixers were stocked in a supply room at one end of the long corridor. Chitsuko would also be needed out in the field, paired up with one of her generals. She would tend to any humans they found immediately and keep them safe and alive until they reached Mukuro's castle.  
  
Once this was explained to the girl and she was familiar with the floors and rooms in the castle, Mukuro sent her to the armory and tailor, where one of her clothing-making youkai would outift the girl with suitable Makai attire.  
  
As soon as Chitsuko left Mukuro's side, the woman went straight to Hiei.  
  
She found him in his room, pacing. The broken shards of Chitsuko's katana lay on his bed. This puzzled Mukuro; Chitsuko Ichihara's things, nothing but a backpack filled with ningen clothes, some food, and other assorted objects, had been moved to another room two floors up stationed close to Mukuro's own chambers. The mistress knew that the girl held an extraordinary power within in, and she wasn't about to let that power escape her eyes or senses for a second. Not until she found out what exactly it was...  
  
"Hiei."  
  
The little fire demon stopped pacing and turned to glance at Mukuro. "What do you want?"  
  
Mukuro strode silently into the room and over to the bed, where she picked up one piece of the shattered sword. "What are you doing with this?"  
  
The Jaganshi ignored the question. "What do you want with me?" he repeated.  
  
Mukuro smiled wryly. The fiery demon never answered anything he didn't want to, especially when it involved a personal matter of his. "I'm giving you a new partner."  
  
"I don't need a new partner."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Hiei turned to face her completely. "If he's anything like that Itami idiot I'd prefer to work alone."  
  
Mukuro chuckled. "Yes, Itami was a foolish one. Always trying to seduce me in one way or another... Such a fool. But who said your partner was going to be a man?"  
  
One eyebrow shot up. "You're giving me a woman?"  
  
"Not a woman. A girl."  
  
Hiei blinked twice and his mouth opened slightly. He understood.  
  
"Yes, she should make for an interesting partner, Hiei. She's very skilled..."  
  
"You're throwing her into the wilderness." The Jaganshi's words were sudden and cut off his mistress's words. She looked at him, her one visible eye showing obvious bewilderment. "There's no telling what danger she would be in out there. She's a human, and all demons around here hate humans! She'll get... She'll get killed!"  
  
"And why do you care so much?"  
  
Hiei's next words were silenced. He choked on his next thought and took a deep breath, fighting to compose himself. He couldn't let on to Mukuro that he knew Chitsuko. He just couldn't...  
  
"I'm not working with a girl." He turned his back to Mukuro and stuffed his hands into his cloak pockets. "And that's final."  
  
"What I say is final, Hiei. YOU work for ME." The female youkai crossed her arms over her chest and turned on her heels, striding do the door in several quick steps. She paused for a moment, leaning against the frame thoughtfully as she ran Hiei's words over in her mind. "She will start working with you tomorrow morning, after I have spoken with her and let her know of her second assignment."  
  
"Second assignment?"  
  
"She will be a healer in the infirmaries when she's not out with you. I trust you will keep an eye on her for me and report anything strange you may learn about her. Like..." she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "...what she really is."  
  
Hiei's breath froze in his throat.  
  
"Where her power comes from."  
  
Hiei did not release his breath until Mukuro's footsteps died away down the corridor outside. He crossed to his bed and sank down onto it, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor with anxiety. He was caught in a trap now. A trap between an old friend and an old master. Someone he cared for and someone he worked for.  
  
Someone who was in danger and someone who was the cause for danger.  
  
There was no telling what would happen if his mistress found out. If Mukuro knew of his connection with Chitsuko, she may disband them both. Or cause harm to Chitsuko. He couldn't have that...  
  
Kurama would never forgive him if he lost her again.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"One more minute and I'm leaving without her..."  
  
Hiei tapped his foot impatiently. He raised one leg to rest his foot in the open doorway of the insect-like vehicle beside him. He studied his angry reflection in the shiny metallic curve of its side and sighed. Mukuro obviously hadn't been thinking too clearly when she assigned such an sharp and ruthless soldier a fresh and gentle recruit...  
  
The Jaganshi groaned and was about to climb into the vehicle and head out when he heard a sweet, even voice call his name.  
  
"HIEI!"  
  
The fire demon turned, his hands poised on the frame of the open door. Chitsuko was running towards him from the direction of the castle. She was wearing a sleeveless crimson tank that reached well down to her hips. Black flowery designs crept around the hem, collar, and across the chest of the shirt. Fastening the somewhat loose garment in place was a thick black belt buckled over it and around her waist. Crimson bands of fabric encircled her upper arms, elbows, and wrists. Her pants were long and black, as were her boots, and her hair was left to flow freely over her shoulders.  
  
"Hiei! Wait! Don't leave without me!"  
  
"Hn." Hiei didn't move as he waited for her to reach him. When she finally did, the girl wasted no time in running around the side of the vehicle and climbing into the passenger seat without even opening the small side door.. The Jaganshi climbed in and shut the door on his side, then turned to look at her.  
  
The girl was panting as she said, "Sorry... I'm a little late. Mukuro... said that... I needed to... dress in better clothing..."  
  
"Heh." Half a smile stretching across one side of the Jaganshi's mouth as the vehicle started up and sped out away from the castle, towards the vast, empty plains of Makai.  
  
"So what are we doing today?" Chitsuko wasted no time in asking.  
  
"What we're going to do everyday. Look for humans."  
  
The air was heavy with the promise of rain, and gray clouds collected overhead. The light of day had been dimmed slightly, and the round sun was nowhere in sight. The two companions passed over fields of green grass and others that were seas of dead stalks and rushes. The vehicle skirted the edges of forests and around banks of black ponds and blue streams.  
  
The girl drank in everything with her eyes; she had never seen so much of Makai. While living with Suzuki, the girl was rarely allowed to go anywhere far from the forest in which the youkai and his other boarders lived. They had kept her under lock and key, afraid that something would happen to her should she stray out of their sight for only a minute. But now the danger was considerably less, if not completely abolished, and she was free to go where she liked.  
  
Only now she was to be under the watchful eyes of Mukuro and Hiei for what seemed to be an extended a period of time. How long would she have to stay there? How long would Mukuro keeper? When could she get away?  
  
She sighed, remembering the assignment Koenma had given her. To find the Shinobi and help to put a stop to Yokozuki and his tribe of human hunters. Now, not only didn't she know where they were, she couldn't help them while she was pinned under the gaze and service of Mukuro.  
  
"I feel terrible..."  
  
"Why?"  
  
With a start Chitsuko realized she had spoken out loud. "Oh, uh... I feel bad I can't get to the Shinobi. My next assignment from Koenma was to help them stop a renegade human-hunting tribe, but now I can't get to them..." She sighed again. "I'll never get back to Ningenkai at this rate..."  
  
Hiei knew what she meant. The only reason Chitsuko was in Makai was to fulfill her punishment from King Enma. She had broken several rules during the race to return rogue demon souls to Hell, a fatal accident that could have led to disaster a few years ago. Not only had Chitsuko hidden the whereabouts of the dangerous demon Karasu, but she had stole Botan's oar, which was classified as Reikai property, and had ran off to Hell to try and defeat the powerful soul-sucking Gouka on her own.  
  
Needless to say, she had been in deep trouble.  
  
But King Enma had gone easy on her, seeing she was only trying to keep her friends safe, and had given her a light punishment. Chitsuko seemed to be enjoying Makai, despite the hardships she had faced since her arrival. She had told Hiei of Zoutarou's return and final defeat, how she had revived Kurama's old partner, the chimera Kuronue, and of her newfound friendship with the inventor Suzuki and his circle of youkai friends.   
  
There was truly nothing this girl had not been through.  
  
"You will find your way back," Hiei finally answered, his eyes trained on the course of the vehicle ahead of him. "I wouldn't worry."  
  
"I hope... you're right..."  
  
Chitsuko leaned on the side of the door, her arm dangling freely over the edge of it. She watched as fields of browning grass rolled by, soon turning into fields of charred black, leveled to the ground and buried under a thick blanket of ashes. She sat up with a start as she realized exactly what she was seeing.  
  
"Hiei."  
  
The Jaganshi had seen it already. He turnd the vehicle onto the blackened plain, plowing through hills of ash and the remainders of tree stumps and brush. Beside him, the hanyou climbed over the side of the insect-like machine and perched herself on the edge of the door, holding onto the metal frame above her head to keep her from falling. She tossed her head to get her hair out of her eyes as she surveyed the damage.  
  
"It doesn't feel right..." she murmured.  
  
"No kidding," the fire youkai replied. The vehicle jerked to a stop and Chitsuko tumbled down off the side of the door. Much to Hiei's relief and amusement, she landed on her feet.  
  
"I wonder where you picked up how to do that?" he asked bemusedly.  
  
The girl shot a pleased smile at her teacher before walking forward into the sea of ashes. The air was stiflingly warm, and steam still rose from the mounds of burned wood and leaves. Chitsuko knelt down and touched her fingers to the ground gently. At once a burning sensation overcame her hand, as though invisble flames licked her fingertips. She felt the agony of a hundred trees swaying, bending, dying in the wind and flames of their destroyers...  
  
"This place was a forest," she said quietly as she slowly got to her feet. "One of the larger ones, like the one where Suzuki lives..." She scooped up a handful of ashes and let the black grains sift through her fingers. "This place reeks of spirit energy. Who could have done such a thing?"  
  
"Maybe these human-hunting Shinobi of yours," the Jaganshi replied as he kicked at a burnt and charred log.  
  
"But what reason would they have to burn down an entire forest? They're human-hunters, not tree-killers..."  
  
A soft moan sounded somewhere off to Chitsuko's left, and at once a presence made itself known to her. She whipped around to face the direction of the moan, but saw nothing.  
  
"There's someone here..."  
  
"What?"  
  
Chitsuko began to take slow, deliberate steps forward. "There's someone here," she repeated. "Their spirit energy is extremely low, it's not refined or anything. It seems almost... neglected. It's someone weak. Someone small... Someone... human..."  
  
Her pace quickened as she heard the moan again and soon she was sprinting across the dead forest, around mounds of burned vegetation, kicking up ash and dirt in her wake. She didn't dare call out to the person for fear of the consequences. If she talked to them, they would surely ask where they were, and they would only get deeper into the mess they were in. More of their memory would have to be wiped.  
  
Suddenly the moan was louder, and Chitsuko turned around to lay eyes on the person.  
  
She was sprawled out under two fallen logs. One was crushing her stomach. She looked to be no older than thirteen or fourteen, and even then she looked small for her age. Her hair was cut a little above her shoulders and was a deep cranberry. The girl's eyes were closed, and her clear forehead was covered in sweat. Her black pants and red sweater were stained with blood, and she sported numerous burns and blisters on her visible skin.  
  
Chitsuko couldn't find her voice as she ran forward and pushed the log off the girl's stomach. The other log was across her legs, and the hanyou rolled it off easily enough. The small girl whimpered again and Chitsuko knelt down to inspect her wounds and feel her pulse.  
  
The feel of her spirit energy was all Chitsuko needed to discern that the girl was indeed a human.  
  
"Looks like we've got one..." she said to Hiei as he came over to look. Chitsuko swung the girl up into her arms and carried her back to the vehicle. Hiei stayed behind for a moment to inspect the ruins once more, then followed Chitsuko. Soon they were off again, roaming all full speed across the destroyed forest, searching for any sign of another victim or casualty. When they were sure the girl was the only one, they left for Mukuro's castle and the infirmaries for the poor child.  
  
"Who could have done such a thing?" Chitsuko asked again as she settled the girl across a stretcher-like seat in the back of the vehicle. The open roof allowed a soft wind to blow over her and her patient, and she did her best to shield the girl from the chill.  
  
"I'm going to have to repeat my previous answer," Hiei replied darkly. "We have here an injured human in the middle of a scene of destruction. You do the math."  
  
Chitsuko got it at once and nodded. "So you think those Shinobi would level an entire forest just to kill one human?"  
  
"The Shinobi are intense in their job. They always have been. I wouldn't be surprised for them to take this new occupation to the highest level possible for them. For all we know a whole flock of humans could've been in that forest, and this girl the only survivor."  
  
Chitsuko solemnly bowed her head and closed her eyes. "I blame their commander. Yokozuki..."  
  
At the wheel, Hiei shrugged. "The name doesn't sound familiar."  
  
"Is your job always like this?" Chitsuko inquired, a sad tone in her voice, as she began to bandage the now unconcious girl's head and scratched stomach.  
  
The Jaganshi's reply was stern and simple. "Always."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Days went by in the same fashion. Chitsuko and Hiei would go out in the morning and come back with as many as three or four injured humans before the first signs of twilight. The hanyou, unable to bear the sight of seeing the ningens in pain, would often spend a good portion of the night in the infirmaries, rubbing balm on burns and bruises, bandaging wounds and dripping herbal potions down her patients' throats. Mukuro only required her to stay in the infirmaries for only a few hours after her return with Hiei every evening, but the girl insisted on tending to the humans until she was sure they were going to survive.  
  
Because of this less and less of them died in Mukuro's castle, until the number of ningens lost by Mukuro's group became a flat out zero. The woman saw Chitsuko's skills and took note of them, owing a great deal of her group's success to the little human girl's power.  
  
But then again, Mukuro wasn't even sure the girl was completely human.  
  
She approached Hiei again one night while he was returning from the infirmaries. It was late, past midnight, and Chitsuko was still cleaning the wounds of a man they had found wandering through the hills not too far from the castle. The girl had eaten nothing since that morning, and it had become one of those rare instances where the Jaganshi had took it upon himself to take care of her. He had raided the kitchens and brought her a bowl of rice with vegetables, a light meal but something that could prevent her from going completely hungry. Chitsuko had thanked him gratefully, rewarding him with one of her endearing smiles.  
  
The Jaganshi stopped when he saw Mukuro approaching. He waited for her to come to him, trying to make his reasons for being up this late at night less obvious.  
  
"You went to see her."  
  
It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"Hn." Hiei shrugged. "She was hungry. She asked me to bring her some food."  
  
"She works hard. She's not like any human I've never seen..." When Hiei did not answer, Mukuro continued, now somewhat annoyed at her soldier's silence. "Why are you so gentle with her?"  
  
Hiei snapped to full attention.  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you two were old friends..."  
  
"...Maybe you don't know better." Hiei took a gamble on his words, standing his ground and staring defiantly into his mistress's eyes.  
  
She chuckled. "Maybe I don't. But I'd say you get along with her quite well. You're still at odds with some of my other soldiers, but her... You've taken to her quickly, and quite well... I wonder, Hiei, if you know something about her that I don't?"  
  
There was a long, uncomfortable silence in which Hiei could not have been more annoyed with his mistress. His ruby eyes narrowed and her marched around and past Mukuro, his hands sliding into his cloak pockets. "There is nothing I need to tell you."  
  
Mukuro watched him until he disappeared around one granite corner in the hallway. She listened as his quiet footsteps descended the stairs. When all was silent and still, she silently made her way to the door of one of the infirmaries.  
  
The golden-haired girl was kneeling beside a futon, rubbing a lavender colored lotion on the blistered arm of an old man. He was sleeping peaceful, and Chitsuko was doing her work gently and slowly so as not to wake up. When she was finished, she stood up, tiptoed over one of the cabinets and place the jar one of the shelves that were filled with her own concotions and potions. She looked satisfied as she returned to the man's side and kneeled down again.  
  
There is nothing you need to tell me... Nothing you WANT to tell me... Mukuro thought as she watched the girl intently. But there is something you should... 


	6. Chapter 5 Complications

Once again, I am terribly sorry for lack of updates. Schoolwork, Christmas shopping and wrapping a crapload of presents has taken up most of my time. @.@ While you're waiting for me to update again, be a dear and go the read the Densetsu no Kagami series by Kaeru Soyokaze. That will keep you satisfied until my next chapter. Dear Kia-chan is my muse, afterall. =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 5: Complications  
  
"Soaring skies and rolling fields,  
  
Whispering wind nipping my heels,  
  
Shining twilight, crystal rain,  
  
Soon I will be home again..."  
  
"What are you singing about now?"  
  
Chitsuko turned her head to look over her shoulder at the Jaganshi and smiled. "Nothing in particular."  
  
"Hn."  
  
The two were once again racing across the Makai wilderness in search of humans. It had been a full two weeks since Chitsuko had come to work for Mukuro. The girl was now perched on the side of the vehicle's door, holding on to the frame above her, dreaming of home. Ningenkai seemed almost like an imaginary place to her now; she had not seen it in over three years. It had been agony for her, leaving all her friends behind to enter a strange world alone. It had been thoughts of them that had kept her going, kept her strong, as she battled her way across the Demon World.  
  
Gingerly she patted her left breast. Still hidden inside her bra was the picture of her and Kurama. Although she had grown quiet of her relationship with the youko, her love continue to swirl inside of her like a silent storm of emotion and sorrow. How she longed to see him again, how she longed to finish her assignment for King Enma and return to the Human World...  
  
But as long as she worked with Mukuro, she couldn't reach the Shinobi. And as long as she couldn't reach the Shinobi, she saw no chance of going home.  
  
And for this she was irritable.  
  
Her sigh called Hiei's attention to her again. "What's wrong now?"  
  
"I miss home."  
  
"You've never mentioned being homesick before."  
  
"I've kept it to myself."  
  
"Whining isn't going to get you there fast enough."  
  
"Neither will sticking around here."  
  
The little youkai shook his head, smiling wryly. "Still upset that you can't run off with the Shinobi."  
  
Chitsuko narrowed her eyes slightly in his direction. "It's my job, Hiei."  
  
"And it's not my fault you can't complete it."  
  
"What if I ran away?"  
  
"They'd hunt you down and kill you."  
  
"Fine." The girl turned to look back out over the wide plains of Makai. The gray grasses gave way to sand and rolling dunes on one side, and on the other they flowed like an ocean to the distant bases of a mountain range. Chitsuko knew those mountains well. On the other side lay her true Makai home, and her friends Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, Chuu, Rinku, and Kuronue. Her homesickness included them, as well. The youkai had clothed her, gave her food, helped to sharpen her skills and gave her a place to sleep without asking for anything in return. She smiled to herself, reminiscing of that nostalgic youkai hospitality...  
  
"Looks like we've got company..."  
  
Hiei's voice pulled her away from her memories. She turned, her blue-gray eyes immediately settling on a small speck in the sky. It was moving rapidly in all directions; first right, then left, then around in a circle before hovering for a moment above the rolling sand dunes. Below the flying dot, a small group of figures climbed over the crown of one of the hills closer to the gray field.  
  
Chitsuko sat still, her gaze tranfixed on the figures. "Head for the dunes."  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "And I thought I was calling the shots..."  
  
"HEAD FOR THE GOD DAMN DUNES."  
  
The sterness and volume of the girl's voice was enough to make the Jaganshi spin the wheel a full circle, and they were off in the direction of the sandy wasteland. As they got closer, Chitsuko's stare wandered from the troop of youkai marching down the dune to the speck hovering in the sky. It began to discend and a form of a person became visible. Chitsuko discerned an almost entirely white outfit and a messy streak of red near the head...  
  
She sprang to her feet, standing the passenger seat and poking her torso through the metal frame that served as a sort of roof.  
  
"JIN!"  
  
They was a surprised yell, and then the floating figure came rapidly into view, much to Hiei's disturbance. Chitsuko waved frantically as the Shinobi Wind Master circled once around the moving vehicle, slowed almost to a stop and perched himself on one of the metal bars that made up the frame.  
  
"Jin!" Chitsuko cried happily once more as the Wind Master chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair.  
  
"Hey there, Chit-chan! How ya been out here on yer own? I see you've found some company..." he added with a sideways glance at Hiei.  
  
"She's my partner," the Jaganshi grumbled as he brought the vehicle up to the edge of the desert.  
  
"...'Partner'?" The Wind Master's eyebrows shot up.  
  
"I've been recruited by Mukuro.... That's why I haven't been able to reach you guys..." the girl replied sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Jin..."  
  
"Nah, dun worry about it," the blue-eyed youkai said, a tone of remorse in his voice. "We heard you were comin' ta help us, but we've got it under control..." He forced out a laugh that was noticeably fake.  
  
Chitsuko took a good look at her friend. Jin had light purple circles under his eyes and his smile drooped at the corners of his mouth. He was tired. The hanyou had never seen him look so tired and miserable in his life. Normally he was hyper and happy, always smiling and laughing and trying to make the best of things. But now he just looked... tired...  
  
Almost... sad...  
  
"Jin?" the girl asked as Hiei brought the vehicle to a halt. "Is something wrong?"  
  
He stared at her for a long moment, his glassy blue eyes going in and out of focus. The last remains of his smile dropped from his face and he sighed inwardly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.  
  
"You know what's got meh down..." he replied in a soft, forlorn tone. "You know abou' Yokozuki and what he's done ta us..."  
  
"Oh..." Chitsuko put a hand on his arm. He was trembling. "I'm sorry, I should've known that..."  
  
"No one knows. No one knows anything. No one understands why he's doing this or why so many have gone to... follow him..." He choked on his last two words and swallowed them immediately.  
  
"Listen, Jin, I promise that as soon as I can get away from Mukuro, I'll come to help you. I promise." The girl rubbed his arm comfortingly for a moment, then asked, "Where's Touya?"  
  
The Wind Master's face darkened. His eyes lost their twinkle and the bags beneath them grew deeper as he turned away to avoid her gaze. He pressed his mouth into a tight line and exhaled heavily through his nose.  
  
"...Jin?"  
  
Hiei turned at the alarm in Chitsuko's voice. He scrutinized the Shinobi as the girl continued to probe him for an answer.  
  
"Jin, what's wrong?" she coaxed, her voice growing more and more frantic. "Where's Touya? ...What happened to Touya? ...Is he alright? Oh, Jin, say something, anything, PLEASE!"  
  
Her last desperate plea made Jin slowly turn his head to look at her.  
  
For the first time since Chitsuko had met him, she saw shining tears collecting in the Wind Master's eyes.  
  
"Jin..."  
  
"OYE! JIN!" someone called.  
  
Wind Master, hanyou, and Jaganshi turned. The group of youkai that had been walking across the sandy desert had now come to approach the vehicle. There were seven of them in all, and each one wore a large colored gem set in a circle of gold pinned to the outfits, the symbol of the Shinobi Tribe.  
  
"Yeah? What ya be a'wantin'?" Jin replied quickly as he wiped his eyes with the back of his arm.  
  
One tall youkai near the front with greasy-looking black hair spoke. "We cannot stop for idle chit-chat. We have much work to do..." He held out a hand, beconing for Jin to return to the group.  
  
"Righ', Risho," Jin replied, hopping down off the vehicle and walking back to his tribe. As they continued their march past them and across the graying field, the Wind Master turned to Chitsuko for a final word.  
  
"I'll be lookin' out for ya, Chit-chan. Please... hurry..."  
  
It broke Chitsuko's heart how pitiful and helpless he sounded.  
  
Hiei and Chitsuko watched the Shinobi march away in silence. Chitsuko stared sadly after Jin as he floated in the air behind the walking tribe, his head hanging slightly and his tired body nearly limp.  
  
When they were out of sight, Chitsuko sighed softly. "He didn't tell me what happened to Touya..."  
  
The Jaganshi heard her murmur, but found it best to say nothing as he started up the vehicle and put it into drive once more.  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was twilight when the two companions decided to head for home. Hiei drove on silently in the falling darkness as Chitsuko sat lethargically in the front seat, her head resting against the side of the door. She was just about to fall asleep when a loud scream shattered the still atmosphere.  
  
"What was THAT?"  
  
"It came from over there..."  
  
Hiei turned the vehicle around and plunged it into a thick forest, branches and bushes shredded to pieces as the Jaganshi plowed on. A minute later he stopped abruptly, turning off the engine and sliding out onto the ground. His Jagan began to glow, and he motioned for Chitsuko to follow him. Silently the girl scampered after him, careful not to let the fallen leaves crunch under her feet. The forest was dark, its heavy canopy blocking out the little sunlight left.  
  
Suddenly Hiei stopped, nearly causing Chitsuko to trip over him. "No..." he breathed.  
  
"What do you mean, 'no'?" the hanyou inquired.  
  
The Jaganshi sighed, agitated. "If this doesn't complicate things even more..."  
  
"What are you talking about? What do you mean..."  
  
"CHITSUKO!"  
  
Two lean arms wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and dragging her onto her knees. The body behind the girl fell with her, its grip around her loosenig slightly.  
  
"Chitsuko!"   
  
The cry had come from whoever had just attacked Chitsuko. The voice was undoubtly feminine, with a few traces of once belonged to a nasaly-sounding little girl. The hanyou quickly sprang to her feet and turned around, only to be dragged down again by the attacker.  
  
"Chitsuko, it's you! I've never seen this place before! I don't know how I got here, I don't know how... It hurts so much, it won't stop bleeding! Don't let them come for me again, PLEASE don't let them!" In the darkness, the speaker panted. "Chitsuko..." The figure sighed softly, then fell forward into Chitsuko's arms.  
  
Hiei had come to stand behind the hanyou. He watched as she turned the figure over in her arms to examine it. There was no question that this was a ningen girl. Her elbow-length hair was tied into two low braids trailing down her back, and she was wearing a short pleated skirt with a blue button-down. Her eyes were closed, but her face looked familar, swimming through Chitsuko's memories until the hanyou finally recognized its distinction...  
  
"Don't open you eyes..." Chitsuko prayed quietly, hopefully, as she stared down at the shifting girl in her arms. "Please don't open your eyes..." She knew what she wound find if those eyes open, knew of the danger...   
  
...Knew what Hiei meant when he had said things would get more complicated...  
  
Gently, the eyes fluttered open. For an instant Chitsuko saw into them, two pools of honey, bright and pretty. Then they slid shut once more, and the girl's body went limp in the hanyou's arms.  
  
Affectionately Chitsuko wrapped her arms around the girl, cradling her to her chest. Her stormy eyes were gazing at the ground, unfocused, unbelieving. No, she thought. This can't be... I would know that face anywhere, but... it just can't be...  
  
Hiei, looking over Chitsuko's shoulder, spoke what the hanyou could not.  
  
"It's Mayaka." 


	7. Chapter 6 Desperate Measures

I'm having so much fun with this series. ^^   
  
I'm home sick from school, so I have time to write! ^^ It's just a cold, but mom INSISTED that I stay home and go to the doctor's to get it checked. Looks like I'll be coughing for two more weeks. I COULD'VE gone to school today but I got about one hour of sleep last night because the concious part of my brain WOULD NOT SHUT UP. I slept from around midnight to one a.m., then couldn't fall back asleep because it was hot and my brain was spinning... @.@... and then I felt like I was going to throw up and I didn't fall asleep until 5:30. Mom woke me up at 6 to start getting ready for school (I leave at 7), and I just couldn't get on my feet without wanting to fall over or die. So I fell over and went back to sleep. ^^;;  
  
Kia-chan gave me my Youko Kurama fix yesterday.... @.@ Thank yooooou Kia-chaaaaaan!!!! =^^=  
  
Stupid theatres, not pre-selling Return of the King tickets yet... @.@ Grrrrrrr... Well, one is, BUT THEY HAVE NO MIDNIGHT SHOWING AND WE WANT TO BE THE FIRST ONES TO GO AND SEE IT. My mom agrees, it's no fun unless you see the FIRST EVER showing THE DAY IT COMES OUT. ^^ But anything past 4 a.m. and we can't go. @.@ Pleeease midnight showiiiiing.... ^^;;; PLEEEEEASE! IF THERE IS A JUST AND LOVING GOD HE WILL LET ME GO TO THE MIDNIGHT SHOWING OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING!!!!! @.@!!!!!!!  
  
.....Mmmmmm, soup. Thank you Mommy. ^^ ::slurp::   
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 6: Desperate Measures  
  
"What am I doing here? ...Home?"  
  
Chitsuko gazed at her surroundings, shocked. She stood on the sidewalk of a familiar street lined with familiar buildings. She rubbed her eyes, then looked up again. When disbelief still gripped her heart, she blinked rapidly several times to clear her vision. But the images remained steady.  
  
She wasn't seeing things.  
  
She was home, in Ningenkai, in her neighborhood. She recognized the Meiou High School building across the street, the high brick wall which hid the city park from view, and the four-way intersection where she would turn right every day on her way to the Minamino residence after school, Kurama by her side, his arm around her waist...  
  
But something didn't feel right.  
  
The streets were empty.  
  
The usual procession of cars that sped through the streets every day was not there. The typical clusters of people that milled along the sidewalk was not there. There was no wind, not even a slight breeze, and the bright sunny atmosphere felt unusually cool and still.  
  
"I get it now..." Chitsuko murmured to herself, disappointed. "This is a dream..."  
  
Despair flooded her as she began her lonely stroll down the cement walkway. For one brief, beautiful moment she had believed that she had somehow returned home, somehow managed to find her way back to Ningenkai and those she loved. What she wouldn't have given to run, no, sprint to the Minamino house and throw herself into Kurama's arms...  
  
Chitsuko passed the park entrance, then stopped. Something was tugging at the back of her mind, beconing her into the park. She turned to look through the open gate at the clumps of trees and benches scattered on the grass beside stone pathways that led into the center of the park. After a moment of careful consideration, she decided to acknowledge the nagging, turned herself around and entered the glowing green safehaven of her past.  
  
She had spent many languid days in this park with her friends. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, Kurama... And when no one else was around, her and Kurama would go by themselves. They would find a spot deep in the heart of the forest that clung to the park's borders, where slats of sunlight fell through the thick canopy overhead. No one ever ventured that far into the woods, making it an ideal spot where they could just be alone. Kurama would bring along books and they would read together, or sometimes just sit beneath a tree, the girl clasped in the boy's arms, simply enjoying each other's company and presence in their lives...  
  
"You really do miss him..."  
  
Chitsuko recognized that sensuous, lilting voice and halted in her tracks.  
  
"You know," the voice continued, "he misses you just as much."  
  
Chitsuko turned to search for its owner. She found him reclining on a bench not too far away, his long black hair falling down his back, his legs crossed and his arms folded over his chest, his amythest eyes glinting...  
  
"KARASU!"  
  
The youkai stood up, opening his arms with a broad smile. Chitsuko took the invitation and ran forward, her heart leaping at the sight of her old friend. As soon as she got to him he swept her up in his arms and swung her around several times, causing both of them to laugh happily before he set her down. After a short moment he reached out to hug her tightly and planted a swift kiss on the top of her head.  
  
"How has my little fox been?"  
  
"Good, good... Overworked, but good..." The hanyou smiled up at him. "What are you doing here? I thought King Enma said you had to go back to Reikai..."  
  
"I did and I am."  
  
"But then why are you... Oh, wait, this is a dream. Nevermind..." She shook her head at her own forgetfulness. "And I just figured that out too..."  
  
Karasu chuckled. "You first met me this way, in a dream, remember?"  
  
"How could I forget?"  
  
The crow motioned for her to sit down, and the fox did so. He settled himself on the bench beside her, crossing his legs once more and resting his arms on the back of the metal seat.   
  
"So what brings you into my dreams this time? Another warning?"  
  
"Something like that," he replied, turning to look at her. "I've got some information for you. From the Reikai files. Koenma asked me to come tell you..."  
  
"KOENMA asked you to do this?"  
  
"Well, yes, seeing as that is how I got through to you the first time." He glanced around, then winked at her. "Don't tell King Enma. The poor kid swore me to discretion and secrecy, otherwise he'd be given at least one hundred spankings for giving me permission to do this."  
  
Golden eyebrows shot upwards. "And HE gets mad at ME for taking so many stupid risks..."  
  
He shrugged. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Oh, and I thought this setting would be more comfortable for you. At least moreso than your current location in Makai..."  
  
"Oh, yes it is..." the girl replied with a sigh. "Mukuro's place is kind of creepy... The bed is really cozy, and my room is nice... But other than that, I don't really go anywhere on the premises. That is, except the infirmaries..."  
  
"Ah, yes, we've been watching you from Reikai. You've got quite a knack for healing..."  
  
"Duh," Chitsuko said, winking back at him. "I learned from the best and I AM an animal spirit, you know."  
  
"Anyone who forgets that truly is an idiot. You're only the most wanted being in all the Realms."  
  
"...Oh thanks..."  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"Hn," was Chitsuko's response, followed by an exasperated sigh and a short giggle.  
  
"You sound like Jaganshi Hiei. Anyway, I've noticed that our dear Mayaka has managed to find her way to Makai..."  
  
"Don't remind me..." she said quickly, rubbing her temples. "Of all the people..." Suddenly she started and sprang to her feet. "Wait a minute! I'm supposed to be taking care of her right now!"  
  
"Relax, relax!" Karasu put a hand on her shoulder and gently coaxed her back down onto the bench. "You can spare a few minutes for me... can't you?"  
  
"Of course." She flashed him a sweet smile and turned to give him her full attention.  
  
Karasu smiled gratefully and ruffled her hair. "The information on Yokozuki is a bit hazy," he began. "We didn't find out much, only that he is a talented psychic with extraordinary leadership abilities. Either his followers really love him or he's usual his telepathic abilities to manipulate their minds. Or it could be a combination of both. He's extremely old, over five hundred years to be precise, and he wasn't always this ruthless and cruel. When he was younger he was trained under the wing of Sanshi, a powerful and well-liked leader of a group of demon hunters. They were like the Shinobi, only Reikai and Makai officials didn't offically recognize their efforts. They dealt with criminals, mainly, but sometimes hunted for sport, cutting down any youkai that stood in their way or seemed unfit to the live. A few of their number went on to become full-fledged Shinobi in later years, but more of them died before they could be given the chance."  
  
He paused for a moment, considering his next words, then cleared his throat. The girl took this as a sign that what he was about to say was clearly important, and she turned to face him completely.  
  
"I thought this would be a point of interest for you, but..." The crow shook his head. "I don't know how you'll take this..."  
  
"Tell me..."  
  
He glanced at her, and seeing the anxiety in her eyes decided to go through with it. "Yokozuki was a close ally and friend of Touhin Zoutarou."  
  
Those crystalline blue-gray eyes widened. "ZOUTAROU?"  
  
Karasu nodded. "They were part of the same group of hunters. As was your father, Jekku..."  
  
"This is CRAZY! Why won't my past leave me alone?" she moaned.  
  
"Poor thing..." Karasu put an arm around her, pulling her close to him in the notorious affection that he had always showed for her. "You can deal. I've seen you cope with worse..."  
  
Her answer was a soft sigh.  
  
"At any rate, his numbers are growing steadily. You need to get out there and help the remainder of Shinobi tribes loyal to Reikai stop him. But be careful; I'm sure he has heard of you, and you're most likely high on his roster of death." He gave her a quick squeeze then dropped his arms and stood up. "Watch yourself, Kokitsune..."  
  
Suddenly Chitsuko felt lightheaded. A voice was calling her from somewhere, and she felt as though the ground beneath her was slowly moving. She was being shaken awake, and the voice that was coaxing her awake was Hiei's. She looked at Karasu, and he seemed to understand that his time with her was up.  
  
"I'll keep and eye on you. If I find anything more, I will tell you..."  
  
"Thank you, Karasu-kun."  
  
"Take care."  
  
His warm smile faded from view and the park around her began to dissolve into darkness...  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Chitsuko. Wake up."  
  
The girl opened her eyes and shot up into a sitting position, nearly knocking the little youkai over backwards. He had been the one shaking her, and he looked thoroughly startled by her sudden awakening. The hanyou rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at him. "How long have I been asleep?"  
  
"Don't know. Thought I would come down here and check up on you." He set a rectangular box down on the futon beside her. "There was nothing worth bringing you in the kitchens. I found this in your backpack."  
  
Chitsuko picked up the box, and grinned as she read the label. "You never can go wrong with chocolate chip cookies."  
  
Hiei watched as she eagerly tore open the box and shoved one of the small round cookies into her mouth. "How can you eat that stuff?"  
  
"Sugar," she replied with her mouth full.  
  
"Hn." He smiled slightly. "I never will understand you ningens."  
  
"I never will understand me either. I'm the one with the split personality, anyway..." She stuffed another cookie into her mouth and licked the crumbs off her fingers. "Besides, only half of me is human. The other half is just as demonic as you."  
  
"I'd like to see you bite someone's head off."  
  
"Been there, done that."  
  
"Excessive verbal abuse does not count."  
  
A low moan from the futon beside them ended their conversation. Chitsuko set down the box of cookies and scrambled off her own futon. Mayaka lay underneath the white sheets, twisting and groaning with pain. Her jet-black bangs were plastered to her forehead by sweat, and her normally peachy face was pale.  
  
"I really don't want to do this again, but..." Chitsuko knew she had no choice. She held her hands over the girl's form, sending her spirit energy out through her palms and into the girl's body. Carefully she used its power to numb the pain of the girl's wounds and gently coax her back to sleep. At once Mayaka was still again, breathing lightly in her semi-unconcious state.  
  
"If you keep knocking her out like that with your spirit energy, chances are it'll have some effect on her..." The Jaganshi looked down at the sleeping girl on the futon, then added, "To some extent..."  
  
"What do you mean?" Chitsuko looked up at him.  
  
He shrugged. "Who knows? There might be a sort of power transfer; she may absorb what you've put into her. With cultivation that power could be harnessed for her own benefit. The effect could be as drastic as that, or it could simply negate the effects of the amnesia drought we gave her a few years ago."  
  
The hanyou started. She had completely forgotten about the block in Mayaka's memory.  
  
Hiei saw her alarm and raised one thin eyebrow. "Don't tell me you forgot we wiped her memory after the fight with Gouka... If she went on knowing things about us there was no telling what trouble she could have gotten us in. Gotten YOU in."  
  
"I... I know..." the girl stammered, "but do you really think that I...?"  
  
"There's a strong possibility of that. I wouldn't doubt it. We'll just have to test her when she wakes up. That is, if you don't keep rendering her unconcious..."  
  
Chitsuko shook her head. "No, no more healing her with my spirit energy. When she wakes up, I'll just treat her with a potion..." She tilted her head thoughtfully to one side. "If the effects have warn off, I could just give her another potion..."  
  
"No." The response was quick. "Her fragile human body won't be able to handle it. You do understand that memory-wiping potions don't actually clear the memory, but create a magical barrier around those memories that we no longer wish for the person to remember? And that they are infused with the spirit energy of the person who mixed the draught? That's what gives the potion its power. The strength of your energy most likely erased the effect of Kurama's, hence breaking the spell on the girl's mind."  
  
The girl looked down at her sleeping friend and sighed. "This sucks..."  
  
Hiei made his way to the door of the infirmary. Before he left he called out to the girl over his shoulder, "There's nothing you can do about it now. All we can do is sit and wait for her to wake up."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The next morning Mayaka's eyes opened fully.  
  
Chitsuko watched silently, holding her breath as her ningen friend blinked lazily at the ceiling, then turned onto her side and sat up. Her back to Chitsuko, she combed her fingers through her long black hair and surveyed her surroundings. The hanyou expected her friend to gasp when she saw the other wounded humans lying around her, or scream as two rather nasty-looking youkai entered the infirmary to check up on other patients. But to Chitsuko's anxiety, no such sound issued from Mayaka's mouth.  
  
Instead, after a minute of careful observation of her environment, Mayaka turned to stare at Chitsuko with her bright, honey-colored eyes. Chitsuko let her breath go, sighing inwardly, silently praying for her friend to say something.  
  
To her astonishment, the raven-haired girl smiled. "You've been taking care of me."  
  
The hanyou could only nod.  
  
"Thanks." She shifted to sit cross-legged on the futon, then rubbed her stomach. "I'm hungry..."  
  
"Here." Chitsuko's voice cracked as she handed the box of cookies over to the ningen.  
  
Mayaka gratefully took the box, then turned it over several times. "This is safe to eat... right?"  
  
"Yeah, of course."  
  
"Just checking..." The girl dug a cookie out of the box and popped it into her mouth. "These taste a little old..."  
  
Chitsuko sweatdropped. "Yeah, sorry about that... They've been in my backpack for... three years."  
  
Mayaka stared at her for moment, then let out a short laugh, much to Chitsuko's delight and relief.  
  
"So... is this the Demon World?"  
  
"Yup. Welcome to Makai."  
  
"Kinda creepy, ne? How long have you been here?"  
  
"Three years... Well, actually, I spent half of that time in an alternate and poorly-made dimension made entirely out of mirrors and run by this sadistic creep that liked licking me entirely too much."  
  
"Ah... So that explains the outrageous cover story of you going to live with your aunt in Tokyo. For a year. And then not coming back for three..." Mayaka nodded understandingly, then took another bite of cookie. "Besides, I knew you'd never leave Kurama, even if you DID find some long-lost relative of yours..."  
  
Chitsuko blushed a bright crimson.  
  
Mayaka sighed. "Am I safe here?"  
  
"Probably not."  
  
"Oh goodie. More fighting for our lives, then?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"I could've been training for this, but that little memory potion you and Shuichi... er... Kurama slipped me kinda... Well, you know..."  
  
"Yeah..." Chitsuko looked sheepishly at her friend. "I'm sorry..."  
  
Mayaka smiled warmly at her. "It's alright. I was safer that way... How did I get here, anyway?"  
  
"It's a... long story..."  
  
"I've got time."  
  
"Maybe later... I'm so tired..."  
  
Chitsuko watched as Mayaka devoured half the box, then sat back on her futon, still drinking in her surroundings with her honey-colored hues. She had matured since Chitsuko had left Makai. For one thing, her voice wasn't as obnoxious to listen to, and her body had grown slender and delicate, much like Chitsuko's had, only without the unfeminine scars of battle the hanyou sported. The golden-haired girl sat still for a long moment, simple content to look at her friend as she sat in the middle of a danger that she knew nothing about.  
  
"Hey..."  
  
Mayaka turned to look at Chitsuko.  
  
The hanyou smiled. "I missed you, Mayaka-chan."  
  
The raven-haired human smiled. "I missed you too, Chitsuko-chan." Ignoring the slight pain in her bandaged torso, the girl reached across the futon to wrap her arms around the kitsune in an affectionate hug. "It's wonderful to see you again."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I say we kill her!"  
  
"YEAH!"  
  
Chitsuko stood with Mayaka in front of the oval table, its seats crowded with Mukuro's youkai minions. The misstress of the castle herself sat in the chair directly opposite the two girls, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"Killing her wouldn't be fair now, would it?" Mukuro said calmly, almost with disinterest. "She has a wonderful perception of the exitance of demons and the Demon World. Why should we kill her?"  
  
One blue-faced youkai stood up and pounded the granite table with his massive fist. "That's evidence enough against her! She knows too much! She MUST BE KILLED!"  
  
There was a roar of agreement from the other youkai. Mayaka reached out and squeezed Chitsuko's hand.  
  
"But we gave this one a chance." Mukuro motioned to Chitsuko. "And this new girl... Mayaka Kawaii, you said her name was? I sense power within her. Maybe she could be of use to us as well..."  
  
"Make her fight like you did the other brat!" the same indignant demon shouted.  
  
Mukuro smiled slightly. "Perhaps that is what we will do..."  
  
Mayaka glanced anxiously at Chitsuko. The hanyou could tell she was afraid. Deathly afraid.  
  
Mukuro stood up to pronounce her verdict. "I think that is a good idea, it being the current trend and all. Mayaka Kawaii will fight one of my soldiers in three days time."  
  
"THREE DAYS?" someone shouted.  
  
The woman youkai nodded. "I have other business to attend to over the next few days. The fight will have to wait."  
  
"I'll fight her NOW!" the blue youkai spat. "STUPID HUMAN BRAT!"  
  
"You will fight her in three days. That is final." Mukuro waved a dismissal to the youkai and exited the conference room without a word.  
  
When Mukuro's soldiers had filtered out, Hiei approached the girls. "Isn't this wonderful."  
  
"Don't be so pessimistic, Hiei. I mean, I'm worried too, but we have three days. THREE DAYS. That's enough time for me to train her." Chitsuko winked at the girl beside her.  
  
"Train me?" Mayaka blinked.  
  
"Hn," Hiei chuckled. "Good luck with that." Then he vanished into the hallway.  
  
"Don't mind him. He's not always that anal." Chitsuko rubbed her friend's arm comfortingly. "Besides, you've got the best trainer in the world right now. She won't let anything bad happen to you."  
  
"...Chitsuko?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What happens if I win?"  
  
"You live."  
  
"Then I hope I win." 


	8. Chapter 7 Spirit Arrows

I have a driving desire to compile a soundtrack for my series. @.@ If this does happen, you can bet I'll be hunting down the mp3s or making them myself and posting them on the web for you all to download! ^^ I'll have to ask Kia-chan to help me make a webpage for Kokitsune... since I'm HTML challenged when it comes down to it... ^^;;;  
  
I'm eating up this series myself. Must finish, must get to Rememory before I die... I had a dream about it last night... @.@  
  
Too many @.@s. Oh well. That's how I feel right now anyway. "At" sign period "at" sign colon colon colon.  
  
Stupid homework bogging me down. Stupid AP European History. Stupid orcs. (Waiiii Kia-chaaaaan!) x.x I'm so SAD! I WANT TO WRITE, DAMNIT! MY READERS NEED ME! ::clings to your leg:: Save me from the evil overloaded homework of death and doom and destruction and decimation and all other words that begin with "D" and have a meaning similar to "DEATH"!!! Don't let it take meeeeeeeeeeeee.... .  
  
On a more serious note: TOGURO TOOTHPASTE.  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
P.S. I used one of the side stairwells today during school, and the first thought that came into my mind nagged me until it became the first line of this chapter. ^^ Heehee.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 7: Spirit Arrows  
  
"This place smells like FEET."  
  
"There's no other place where we can train without being noticed. Just keep walking."  
  
Chitsuko and Mayaka stopped when they reached the other side of the forest. Dawn had come, cloudy and damp. Fog rolled over the ground and hung listlessly in the air around them, obscuring their vision so that they could barely make out the shapes of the trees around them. A marshland sat about a hundred yards away, festering and stinking, contributing to the thickness of the mist. And despite the lack of a breeze, the stench managed to weave its way through the air and into the surrounding forest, much to the girls' displeasure.  
  
"But why all the way out here?" Mayaka whined, pinching her nose in disgust.  
  
The golden-haired hanyou sighed. "We can't practice in view of the castle, and we sure as hell can't practice INSIDE the castle. Mukuro's minions patroll the edges of the forest and sometimes venture into its heart, but other than that they stay pretty close to the palace. They never come out this far, especially because of the marsh. They can't stand the smell."  
  
"...Considering half of them smell the same way..." the human muttered crossly.  
  
"Well it's good for us. No one will think to come this way or take notice of anything they may see or hear coming from this direction. We're safe here, don't worry."  
  
"Well if you say so," Mayaka replied, gazing unnervingly at her surroundings.  
  
Chitsuko shrugged off her backpack and sank to her knees beside it. Quickly she pulled out a longbow and several arrows, all made of old, molding wood. The tips of the arrows were covered with a small cone of metal, some of them chipped, and the purple and green feathers that were meant to keep them flying straight were ripped and bent.  
  
The kitsune sighed and handed the weapons to Mayaka. "This was all I could find in the artillery hallway that wouldn't be missed."  
  
The raven-haired girl stared at the bow and arrows, one eye twitching. "You couldn't get me a sword or a staff? I'd probably be better off beating my enemy with a stick then trying to poke him with one of these!"  
  
"All the swords and heavier weapons looked clean, meaning they're probably still in use. If I took one of them someone would have noticed and they'd use it to slit our throats." Chitsuko stood up and took the bow and one arrow from Mayaka. She carefully set the arrow against the string and pulled back, preparing to fire. "Besides, these can't be damaged THAT bad..."  
  
Chitsuko let go of the arrow. At one three things happened in rapid succession: First the string snapped with a loud twang, followed by the splintering of wood as the bow broke into three pieces and fell to the ground, and the arrow flew four or five feet before abruptly changing its course and plunging itself into the ground near the knarled roots of a tree.  
  
The hanyou's jaw dropped and she groaned with dismay.  
  
Mayaka pulled the arrow out of the ground and threw it in the directly of the marsh. "Well that was promising."  
  
"Damn, they've really let things go here..." Chitsuko kicked at the pieces of broken bow.  
  
"Don't you know? Wooden weapons are SO four centuries ago." Mayaka said mockingly as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"But..." Chitsuko stammerd, "but I thought you could use these, since hand-to-hand combat would be too hard for you..."  
  
"'Too hard'?"  
  
"Yes! Don't you remember, in the fight against Gouka, all you could do was throw balls of spirit energy? You could only use long-range attacks, and even then all they could do was make a dent in his armor. And I figured that long-range battling would be alot safer for you." Chitsuko looked tenderly at her friend, a small smile on her face. "I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt or killed."  
  
Mayaka, warmed by Chitsuko's words, smiled as well. "Well then, where do we start?"  
  
Chitsuko tapped her cheek with one slender finger as she thought. "Since the bow was a piece of crap, and we have no other weapons available to us, we should try to work on your spiritual attacks. The ones involving your spirit energy."  
  
"Wait, Chitsuko..." The ningen girl looked uncomfortable. "First of all, my spirit energy is weak, remember? And second of all, why can't I use your sword?"  
  
"It takes a long time to master a sword, Mayaka. It took Hiei a few months to just get me to hold it and swing it right."  
  
"Oh... But then what do I do about my spirit energy?"  
  
"That we can strengthen. We have three days, right?"  
  
"Right..."  
  
"So all we have to do is keep you using it. While you recover from each use, you build up a store of it. All we have to do is build up your energy until you've got a nice well of it inside of you, then work on using it sparingly so you don't lose it all at once in battle."  
  
"Easy for YOU to say!" Mayaka cried. "You're the all-powerful half-demon Chitsuko Ichihara..."  
  
"It's Hanyou Kohana..."  
  
"Hanyou Kohana, whatever!" The girl threw up her hands. "You've got talent and experience whereas I'm incompetant and useless..."  
  
"That's not true!" Chitsuko closed the distance between them and put a comforting arm around her friend. "You'll have to work really hard, but you'll get it."  
  
"But I'll just fail..."  
  
"You're not going to fail. I won't let you."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Four hours later, Mayaka was exhausted and Chitsuko was at the end of her rope.  
  
"Not going to let me fail, eh?"  
  
"I promise, I won't let you..." The hanyou leaned against the trunk of a tree and sighed. "We just need to find a suitable form for you to manifest your energy into..."  
  
Honey-colored eyes were raised toward the misty skies as the girl ticked off on her fingers. "We've tried the Spirit Gun, the Spirit Sword, the Spirit Bomber... Raw balls of energy don't even work for me anymore! They're not strong enough, my energy goes haywire in all directions and my attack loses its potency as it travels. What else can we try?"  
  
The golden-haired girl pressed her hands to her face. "Mayaka..."  
  
"It's just as crappy as the crappy bow! The crappiest piece of crap that ever there was, MY SPIRIT ENERGY!" The human girl's sarcasm was hard to mistake and dripping with exasperation.  
  
"Mayaka, please..."  
  
"The crappy pieces of the crappy bow would probably be a lot better than my crappy spirit energy!"  
  
"Do you have to say 'crap' so many times?"  
  
"Yes. Yes I do! Crap! Crap crap crap... Just like the bow!" Mayaka stood the same way Chitsuko had when she tested the bow. She gripped an imaginary arrow and bow, aiming at an imaginary target in the fog beyond. "Spirit Crap!"  
  
"Mayaka..." Chitsuko was about to reprimand her friend when something hovering around the other girl's hands caught her attention. A faint, lime-green light had started to collect around her hands, stretching itself out into a long rod-shape where the arrow should be. The hand that held the imaginary bow was suddenly gripping a bent shaft of light, its image hazy and not yet fully-formed.  
  
The fox's eyes widened. "Mayaka... Your spirit energy..."  
  
"Is CRAP!" the other finished for her. "Ah, here's one we haven't tried yet! SPIRIT CRAPPY ARROW!"  
  
The glowing arrow shot from Mayaka's fingers is a rush of light and crackle of spirit energy. It shot soundlessly into the fog and away from the two girls. They followed the retreating light with their eyes until a sharp crack announced the impaling of a tree across the marsh.  
  
Mayaka stared after her attack, dumbfounded and in utter disbelief. Her voice was barely audible as she whispered, "Did I just..."  
  
"You know," Chitsuko said as she casually sauntered over to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder, "if I were you I would take 'crap' out of the name."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Two days passed in the same manner. Chitsuko and Mayaka would take whatever food they could find out to the other side of the forest, where they were train until the first signs of twilight called them home. Hiei kept the girls' doings a secret from Mukuro and never said a word about Chitsuko not accompanying him on his scouting missions. Both hanyou and ningen would get into the insect-like vehicle with him in the morning, and the Jaganshi would drop them off on the other side of the trees and return for them at nightfall. The little youkai kept his loyalties to Chitsuko, and she was grateful to him for that.  
  
The night before the battle, neither girl could sleep. Mayaka had been put up in Chitsuko's room. Her futon had been set up at the foot of the kitsune's massive bed, but the golden-haired girl had insisted that the ningen share the bed with her. They sat up well past midnight, neither one talking, staring into space and silently praying for strength for the fight to come.  
  
"Chitsuko?" Mayaka finally broke the silence just as the moon began to sink low in the velvety sky.  
  
"Yes?" was the tired reply.  
  
"I don't think you have enough energy..."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"I feel it..." The girl sounded afraid. "I honestly feel like I don't have enough to keep firing. What if I have to fire in rapid succession? One after the other? I'll run out, and then I'll be a goner..."  
  
"Then I'll fix that."  
  
The hanyou turned to face the girl, sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of her. She reached out and took Mayaka's hands and held them up in front of her, locking their fingers and pressing their palms together. The ningen stared at her, perplexed.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Chitsuko closed her eyes. "I'm giving you some of my energy."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Shhhh..."  
  
Mayaka fell silent.  
  
At once Chitsuko began to glow with her golden spirit energy. The aura swirled around her for a moment, before tendrils of it snaked down her arms to the girls' interlocked hands. The golden light hesitated for a moment, then wound its way around Mayaka, slowly dissolving through her skin to enter her body and merge with her own spirit energy. For an instant the human was surrounded with a pulsing yellow-green light. Then both energies faded, leaving the girls in complete darkness once more.  
  
"You didn't have to do that for me..." Mayaka whispered.  
  
"Yes I did. You're my friend and I care about you."  
  
There was a short silence before the raven-haired girl replied in an even lower whisper, "Thank you, Chitsuko-chan."  
  
The girl did not see the hanyou's smile in the dark. "I already promised you, Mayaka-chan. I won't let you fail."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Much to the hanyou's dismay, Chitsuko was not permitted to attend the fight.  
  
The rather menacing-looking youkai that had come to collect Mayaka that morning had given Chitsuko the message that she was to stay behind on pain of death. Whether this was an order straight from Mukuro or one of her devilish minions, she didn't know.  
  
All she knew was that her friend was in danger, and she wasn't even there to help her if things went wrong.  
  
That was probably why she had been ordered to stay behind. They probably suspected that she would somehow aid the human girl and assure her victory. The youkai wanted her dead; it was a known fact that they held a fiery contempt for both girls. They would relish seeing one of them mercilessly slaughtered.  
  
"Mayaka..."  
  
Chitsuko silently prayed as she sat as the edge of her bed, her hands clutching the crimson sheets. It had been over an hour. Would the fight last long? Or was it over already? Would they send someone to tell her the outcome, or would she have to find out for herself?  
  
Would Mayaka...  
  
The bedroom door creaked open behind her and she sprang to her feet and whirled around, her stomach churning, nervous at the thought of who might be standing there...  
  
Mayaka stood there, her long black hair touseled, her clothes slightly ripped and splashed with blood. Cuts and scratches criss-crossed her bare arms and legs, and she was panting...  
  
"You're... you're...!" Chitsuko could say no more as she climbed over the bed in a flash and threw herself at her friend. Small tears found their way down her cheeks as she hugged the ningen girl, cool relief flooding over her.  
  
Mayaka pulled back and Chitsuko grasped her hands, her heart pounding as she waited for Mayaka to say something. Had she pulled through? Or had she stayed down for the ten count and lost?  
  
Seeing the anxiety on her friend's face, the raven-haired girl let out a soft "Oh..."  
  
...And smiled.  
  
"I won." 


	9. Chapter 8 The Enemy

WE'RE GETTING 18+ INCHES OF SNOW!!!!!!!!! @.@!!!!!!!!!  
  
Went out for a frolic with Christi, Toria, and my family in it. 'Twas much fun. ^^ Christi and I took the little sled that goes SUPER fast... She sat behind me and did the steering with the pedals while I sat in front of her and held the rope. We went down my driveway, which is LONG and STEEP...  
  
"Left, Christi. Right. Right Christi... No, left! Left Christi LEFT! ...NO your OTHER left! LEFT!! LEEEEEFT!!!"  
  
-=CRASH=-  
  
@.@ ...Christi x.x ....Me ^^; ....the stone wall  
  
Then I did the steering and didn't do any better. -.-;;; And then I threw myself down a hill! ^^  
  
Ah well. ^^;; Enjoy Chapter 8!!  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 8: The Enemy  
  
Mayaka spared no details when describing the battle to Chitsuko. Every slash, every cry, every spirt of blood was desribed in detail, including Mayaka's glorious victory as her arrow skewered her opponent through the chest. Mukuro had shown no remorse for the loss of one of her soldiers, and had immediately proclaimed Mayaka to be Chitsuko and Hiei's new companion.  
  
The Jaganshi said nothing when informed of this, but the look on his face made it clear that he was none too pleased. Chitsuko, however, ignored his scorn; she was happy her friend was alive and was relieved that she would be stationed near her at all times.  
  
She wouldn't let another loved one fall prey to her notoriously deadly reknown.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Hiei..."  
  
"Go away, Mukuro."  
  
The Jaganshi stood on the balcony connected to his room, a curtain of transparent silk serving as a barrier between himself and his mistress. His head was bowed, the night wind sliding over his bare, toned chest and teasing his spiked black hair. He stood still in silent comtemplation, letting the tranquil summer night ease him into his thoughts.  
  
Mukuro disobeyed Hiei's sharp command and stepped into the room. "Hiei," she repeated.  
  
"I said go away." The Jaganshi inclined his head further, his back still to Mukuro.  
  
The woman scowled and advanced further inside. "I know you're hiding something from me Hiei... Something about the girl..."  
  
"Did I not tell you to go away?" Hiei turned around, his face livid. His Jagan was glowing ferociously, casting shadows around his flashing ruby eyes. "There is nothing I need to tell you..."  
  
"Don't be a fool, Hiei." Mukuro strode across the room until the silken curtain brushed her face. "You can't keep anything from me..." Her one visible purple eye narrowed into a slit. "I'll drag it out of you if I have to..."  
  
"Do your worst, Mukuro." Hiei spat out his mistress's name as though it were poison. "You have no role in any of this..."  
  
"I decide whether the girl lives or dies!" she shouted at him through the ghostly barrier. "I could have my soldiers kill her in an instant, order them to her room to slaughter both her and that wretched human girl you picked up several days ago! Don't make me do that, Hiei!" she snarled.  
  
Hiei's body stiffened slightly, and an expression of mute emotion crossed his face. "You wouldn't." There was a undertone in Hiei's voice that suggested fear, something the woman had never heard in his words before. "I know you, and you wouldn't."  
  
Mukuro sighed inwardly. It was true, she wouldn't do it. Not only did she value the girl's healing skills, but if she so much as laid a finger on her Hiei would pounce on her in an instant. It was blatantly obvious that the Jaganshi had some sort of connection with the girl, and whatever it was Mukuro was intent on finding out its exact nature.  
  
"And I know you know the girl," she said softly, hoping the change of subject wouldn't be too subtle.  
  
The fire demon went along with it. He slumped back against the railing, his eyes downcast, and his Jagan pulsed gently.  
  
Mukuro brushed aside the silken curtain and moved to stand on the balcony beside him. "What is between you and Chitsuko Ichihara? Tell me, Hiei..."  
  
"There is no real explaination for her..." The Jaganshi turned around to face the open night once more, his chin up, his eyes gazing into the endless black sky. "She is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, that girl... She has both the power to heal and to destroy, and yet by her appearance you would think she was only a human girl, clueless and naive. But she has intelligence, a knowledge of emotions and instincts that no one can decipher, and a barrier of mystery that no one can penetrate... But that's just it. Everyone who gets close to her feels the need to cross that barrier, wants to cross it. People love her because they want to. Because they almost have no choice. There is a charm, a mystical charm, a quality about her... Every heart she stumbles across she touches in some way..."  
  
Mukuro was dumfounded. Hiei had gone off on a full-blown tangent. But from his speech she had only learned one thing: that Chitsuko wasn't "only a human girl." Only one question remained to be answered, as far as she was concerned at the moment...  
  
"And has she touched your heart?"  
  
Hiei slowly turned to look at her, his eyes shimmering in the pale light of the moon, stars, and his Jagan. From the serene, yet almost sorrowful, look on his face, the answer was made clear.  
  
"Yes."  
  
* * * * *  
  
So she had the power to gain anyone's friendship. What difference did it make?  
  
She had the power to warm even the coldest heart. Hiei's heart. He had let someone get close to him, with almost no logical reason behind it.  
  
Mukuro left Hiei's room with her mind spinning and a greater desire to know the girl's true identity. What was she doing in Makai? She was obviously human. Well, at least part of her felt to be human. She showed compassion that could only belong to a ningen, and a power that could only belong to a youkai.  
  
And then the realization hit her.  
  
Chitsuko Ichihara was a hanyou. A half-human half-demon crossbreed.  
  
The woman was sure of it as she retreated to her room, pausing in front of Chitsuko and Mayaka's closed door. No sound issued from within, no telltale sign that its occupants were up and awake. Mukuro entered her own chambers and quietly shut the door behind her, her thoughts still reeling wildly.  
  
Now the only thing left to know was this: Where did she come from, and why was she in Makai?  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Mukuro went to bed late last night. I heard her coming back." Mayaka brushed her hair out of her honey-colored eyes as the insect-like vehicle weaved smoothly through the forest.  
  
"She came to see me," Hiei said quietly, half hoping that neither girl had heard him.  
  
Chitsuko had. "What for?" She looked over at Hiei from the passenger seat, tearing her gaze away from the trees speeding past them.  
  
The Jaganshi chose silence as his answer. He glanced briefly at the kitsune before his eyes settled on the world ahead of him once more.  
  
"You're kind of strange..." Mayaka raised one slender eyebrow.  
  
"You're kind of annoying," the little demon shot back.  
  
The golden-haired girl rolled her eyes as the ningen girl shot the Jaganshi a death glare. The vehicle sped along in silence, twilight falling through the canopy of leaves and filling the empty spaces between the trees with darkness.  
  
Suddenly Chitsuko's inner vision caught a trace of whispy white. A human soul.  
  
"There's a human here somewhere," she said to Hiei, and he promptly stopped the vehicle.  
  
The white flashed in her mind and was suddenly accompanied by another.  
  
"Two of them. They look small... Maybe children."  
  
The three of them climbed out of the vehicle and began their search of the surrounding foliage. Hiei sauntered off in one direction while Mayaka and Chitsuko set out together. It wasn't long before a soft wail floated to their ears, leading the two girls to a rather large pricker bush.  
  
Deep within the thorny tangles of branches sat two small children, a boy and a girl. They looked to be no older than two or three, and they were whimpering helpless as they tried to crawl out from the mess of prickers.  
  
"Oh!" Mayaka said sadly as she reached in to help one out, then quickly withdrew her arm with a soft cry. A trickle of blood started at the crook of her elbow and dripped off onto the ground. "Damn prickers..."  
  
"They're in there too deep..." Chitsuko said quietly as she examined the bush.  
  
"How did they get so far in there?"  
  
"I don't know... Maybe this is where they ended up after crossing the barrier." Chitsuko kneeled down and held her hands out towards the bush.  
  
The branches began to untwist themselves. They bent and arched until they had formed a tunnel into the center of the bush, big enough for one of the girls to crawl in and reach the children. The little girl's whimpering persisted while the boy watched in awe as the plant around them moved.  
  
"Wow..." Mayaka breathed.  
  
Chitsuko flashed her friend her infamous smile before getting on her hands and knees and crawling into the bush. She held a hand out to the children, beconing them.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm here to save you."  
  
The little girl looked the hanyou over warily, still not sure if she could be trusted. The boy, however, reached out and placed his chubby little fingers in Chitsuko's palm. The fox's own fingers closed around his and he eased forward until he was close enough for Chitsuko to gather him in her arms.  
  
"Mayaka, I'll pass him to you, then I'll try to get the little girl to come." She began to crawl out of the bush.  
  
"Ko...Koete!" the female child wailed, reaching out to the boy in Chitsuko's arms. "Koete!"  
  
"It's okay, Sami!" the little boy responded, causing Chitsuko to halt in her tracks. "The lady is nice. She's gonna take us home!"  
  
"Koete..." she sighed, then nodded. It dawned on the girls that these two might be brother and sister, since it was obvious little Sami depended on Koete.  
  
Mayaka smiled softly and held out her arms, ready to take the boy. "Hand him over, Chitsuko."  
  
The hanyou had begun to do so, when an ear-splitting yell shattered the silence of the forest.  
  
Something flew past the bush, nearly colliding with Mayaka. The ningen screamed, prompting Koete and Sami to scream as well. Chitsuko acted on instinct, grabbing her friend's arm and yanking her into the depths of the bush. Something was obviously wrong. The forest was now pulsing with energy alien to nature. What Chitsuko felt was not the low thrumming of the trees and shrubs, but the pounding pressure of demon energy.  
  
"You stay here with the kids," she said quickly to Mayaka as she thrust Koete into her arms. "I'll go see what's going on..."  
  
"But Chitsuko...!"  
  
"No, stay here. It doesn't feel right..." A dark presence flaired up in her mind and at once she knew it was Hiei. She could sense his Jagan searching for her, almost frantic to know where she was. She scampered out of the bush, ignoring the thorns tearing at her clothes, and shut the tunnel behind her, the branches growing back into place.  
  
At once Sami began crying. Mayaka scooped her up in one arm while Koete hyperventilated in the other, both of them white with terror.  
  
"Don't worry," Chitsuko cooed to them from outside the bush. "You'll be safe in there, I promise." Then without another word she sprang to her feet and sped away in search of Hiei.  
  
What had frightened Mayaka turned out to be the corpse of a slain demon, a large hole in his chest made by a sword. Hiei's work. Chitsuko tossed her hair, grabbing at the white rose that manifested itself in her hands and using her spirit energy to form it into her Rose Whip. The clang of metal, cries of pain and shouts of anguish ceaselessly punctuated the air.  
  
Several presences made themselves known to her, one in particular standing out. In her mind's eye it was light blue and it felt chilly, like snow on bare skin. Her heart pounded, and she only could guess who it might be...  
  
"Please... PLEASE let it be him..." she pleaded quietly as she drew nearer to the commotion.  
  
"Chitsuko, get DOWN!"  
  
Someone threw themself on top of her just as a rain of icy darts pelted past her. Once the attack had ceased he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Hiei, what's..."  
  
"Fight now, talk later." With that the Jaganshi sped forward, his katana brandished for another attack.  
  
She heard a snarl behind her and whipped around just in time to cut down two rather ugly looking youkai. As both of them fell, bloody and breathless, she noticed that each one wore a large colored gem set in a gold circle...  
  
"SHINOBI?" Chitsuko cried as she frantically searched for Hiei. "This must be...!"  
  
The girl's thought remained unfinished. Something cold and sharp dug into her side and she fell to her knees. Without waiting for the full pain of the wound to set in she yanked it out and threw it from her. It landed several feet away, where it began to slowly melt in the warmth of the night.  
  
It was a shard of ice.  
  
Someone fell to their knees beside her, one hand running over her wound. She cried out in pain and moved to kick the offender but another hand quickly covered her mouth.  
  
"Shhhh, Chitsuko-chan. It's me."  
  
The hand was removed. "Touya?" she whispered.  
  
He let go, and Chitsuko turned around to face him. The battle beyond the trees continued to rage as the Shinobi Ice Master tended the girl's wound. His pupiless ice-blue eyes were as bright as always, but he, like Jin, had dark circles beneath them, and he seemed sad, moreso than the Wind Master.  
  
"Touya, what...?"  
  
"I'm sorry I attacked you," he said quietly as he finished typing a ripped piece of his shirt around her waist. "I didn't recognize you. I saw Hiei and thought he would be with another one of Mukuro's soldiers..."  
  
"I am one of Mukuro's soldiers."  
  
He looked throughly surprised. "How did that happen?"  
  
Chitsuko opened her mouth to explain, but was cut off by another cry.  
  
"Touya! Retreat now, the midget is killing off our men!" The voice was deep and manly, boasting of an overconfident, and probably musular, owner.  
  
"Yes, Yokozuki-sama!" the Ice Master called.  
  
"Yokozuki? Touya, you...!" Chitsuko shook her head in disbelief. "You're on HIS SIDE?"  
  
Touya never answered her.  
  
"TOUYA!"  
  
Quickly Touya shoved Chitsuko behind a tree, motioning for her to run. He stood up just as a tall man walked into the clearing. His hair was a deep green, and cut around his shoulders, with several short strands hanging in his eyes. His eyes were a bright, laughing orange, and his smile was wry. He was indeed muscular and wore a brown tunic over gray pants and a long shirt with leather gauntlets around his arms and high black leather boots.  
  
"Yokozuki-sama." Touya choked on the name as he bowed.  
  
"Let's head back. We've got stuff to do!"  
  
"So that's... Yokozuki..." The words were spoken so softly that Chitsuko's ears hardly picked up her own words.  
  
Yokozuki strutted away through the trees. Touya threw a brief, forlorn glance in Chitsuko's direction, his pale eyes shining with sorrow and remorse. Then he turned and followed his new master without looking back.  
  
Chitsuko was reeling from shock. She leaned her head against the rough bark of the tree, her breath coming in short gasps as she fought down hot tears. This can't be happening, she thought. He can't be, Touya just can't...  
  
He can't be my enemy... 


	10. Chapter 9 The Sorrow of the Shinobi

Sorry for the lack of updating... I'm sick... again... and for some reason I haven't been getting enough sleep lately.   
  
But starting December 24, I'll be on Christmas break until January 4, which means I'll be able to pour out chapters like it was nobody's business!  
  
I apologize to all Touya fans. This chapter will make you all feel considerably better, I promise. =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 9: The Sorrow of the Shinobi  
  
The day next Chitsuko stayed behind while Hiei and Mayaka went out to search for more humans. The raven-haired girl had tried to comfort her, but the icy sorrow that had gripped the hanyou's heart could not be melted. The fox sent Mayaka on her way, telling Hiei to keep a close eye on the girl in her place.  
  
Chitsuko had told Hiei of what had happened, how she had discovered that Touya was now working for the enemy. For Yokozuki. The Jaganshi offered no reasonable explaination.  
  
There was no explaination at all. Nothing could be deduced from the evidence put before the kitsune.  
  
Touya was her enemy now. She would have to except that.  
  
But she couldn't except it. She wouldn't. Touya was her friend. He had helped see her through the battle against Gouka those many years ago, and had been there for her during those long emotionally-torturing months at Suzuki's when Zoutarou had returned. He was her ally, and in her heart he always would be.  
  
But why was he working for Yokozuki?  
  
The girl remembered how carefully he had bandaged her wound after accidentally shooting her with an ice dart. The gash was beginning to close up, and the pain was subsiding. But the pain in her heart was not.  
  
There was only one way to learn the truth.  
  
Chitsuko waited for Hiei and Mayaka's departure. When she was sure that they had left, she crept out of her chambers and down the hallway, glancing around her for any sign of one of Mukuro's lackies. Her goal was to slip out, unseen, leaving no one the wiser. They would all just think she had locked herself in her chambers for the second day in a row. Once she reached the top of the massive stone stairwell, she would be home free...  
  
"Chitsuko?"  
  
The hanyou grimaced at her misfortune, then turned around to face Mukuro.  
  
"Where are you going?" the older youkai asked.  
  
"I'm..." Chitsuko racked her brain for a quick answer. "I'm hungry."  
  
"Right..." The girl could tell that Mukuro did not believe her. "Why so secretive?"  
  
"I... didn't want to disturb anybody."  
  
Mukuro folded her arms over her chest and stared the girl down, locking onto her stormy blue-gray eyes. Chitsuko returned the stare, trying to look as innocent as possible without letting on that she was afriad. But the ex-Lord of Makai saw the anxiety written on her face all too well, and the sadness that danced in her deep eyes. She was definitely hiding something, but right now it didn't seem to be her top priority. She was worried about something. The gentle aura that surrounded her was saturated with sadness and pain.  
  
Mukuro gave in to her curiosity and, for the first time since Chitsuko's arrival, dropped her aura of authority. "What's wrong?"  
  
Chitsuko made it painfully obvious that she had been caught. Her face fell and her eyes widened before she caught herself and straightened her slouching posture.  
  
"Nothing's wrong..."  
  
Mukuro's visible eye rolled in its socket. "Come now, something's wrong. I can feel it."  
  
"That's nothing, I'm just... hungry..."  
  
"Anxiety hangs over you like a raincloud. Chitsuko, I order you to tell me what is wrong."  
  
The kitsune sadly looked away, her gaze softening as all tension and will to resist the youkai's questioning left her body.  
  
"Someone has just... upset me..."  
  
"A friend of yours?"  
  
"Mmhmm..." She nodded weakly.  
  
"Hiei?"  
  
Chitsuko shook her head and smiled half-heartedly. "Of all the years I've known him, despite his cocky attitude he never once upset me..."  
  
A sharp intake of breath from Mukuro cause the girl to look up at her, startled. Her mistress was looking down at her as though she were really seeing her for the first time. She scanned the woman's face for any sign of what she might be thinking...  
  
And then her own words struck her like a blow to the head.  
  
"I really have to go..." she said quietly as she began to slowly back away.  
  
Once again Mukuro saw her fear. She paused, watching the girl retreating, before saying, "It's alright."  
  
The hanyou stopped. "What?"  
  
"It's alright," the youkai repeated. "Go get yourself something to eat. You're white as a ghost. Are you sick?" It was the best way to let her go without letting on what she had learned from their brief chat.  
  
"N-n-No..." Chitsuko stuttered.  
  
Mukuro nodded to Chitsuko. "Dismissed."  
  
"Thank you..." Chitsuko could only whisper as she turned and fled to the stairs. She immediately leapt into the dark stone stairwell and sprinted away, out of Mukuro's sight.  
  
The woman watched the girl go with a mixture of thoughtfulness and compassion. What had happened to her? Whatever it was, it must have happened outside of the castle walls. As far as Mukuro knew, the girl had no friends other than Hiei and the human girl Mayaka. She hardly spoke to any of the other soldiers unless she was addressed first, and even then her replies were short and very scarce.  
  
But one question still remained to be answered: Chitsuko Ichihara's true identity and origin.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chitsuko wandered through the Makai wilderness until well after sunset. Only one thought was on her mind: to find Yokozuki's tribe. If she found the tribe, she would find Touya.  
  
And if she found Touya, she would find the truth.  
  
When the starlight began to seep through the web of leaves above the forest, Chitsuko stopped the fires. There were at least a dozen of them, each a different color, burning steadily in the maze of trees. As the hanyou crept closer, she discovered the fires were set up in a clearing, each cluster of flames guarding the entrance to a small tent. The tents were all the same color, a pallid, robin's-egg blue, and some were decorated with small rips and tears. Voices floated out from tents' mouths, tones of joy, anxiety, and anger.  
  
A deep, hearty laugh rang throughout the clearing and the flap of one tent opened. Chitsuko, hiding behind a tree on the edge of the clearing, recognized the figure that emerged from it: Yokozuki laughed and waved to its occupants as he passed the fire at the tent's opening. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, a soft night breeze tugging at his deep green hair. Then, with a jovial chuckle, he sauntered out of the clearing and into the woods... stopping several feet from Chitsuko's hiding place.  
  
The girl held her breath. The demon was standing in front of a bush, his back to her, seemingly fiddling with something on the front of his tunic. Chitsuko found it difficult to believe that this happy, friendly-looking man was the dreaded Yokozoki, bane of the Shinobi, the cause for their sorrow and loss of respect. He reminded her of Jin in a way, energetic, always smiling...  
  
Chitsuko shook her head to clear her mind, pulling herself back to reality just as the youkai sighed with content and dropped his pants to the ground.  
  
The kitsune reacted badly, promising herself a later scolding. Thoroughly disgusted and disturbed, the girl bolted in the only direction open to her...  
  
...And straight into the human-hunters' camp.  
  
The girl found herself standing in front of a lavendar-colored fire that was smaller than the rest. The magic around this tent is weak, she thought. If I can just get inside one of them and ask where Touya is, I should be alright... But knowing this monsters I'll have to use threats to get them to do what I want... Oh WHY didn't I bring my sword?  
  
Quietly she crept to the opening of the tent and knelt down, one hand hovering above the edge of the flap. Small beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as she felt the energy barrier surrounding the tent. Just my luck, she thought. The one place I can infiltrate and it's guarded. DAMNIT!  
  
Someone behind her spoke. "Oye! Yokozuki-sama! What were you doing out there without your guards?"  
  
And then the revolt leader's voice. "Ah, whatever. I don't need guards, I'm no weakling! Besides, when ya hafta piss, ya hafta piss..."  
  
At the sound of Yokozuki's voice the energy barrier around the tent vanished. Chitsuko seized the chance and dove into the tent, her spirit energy thrumming in her veins and ready to defend her...  
  
There was a muffled cry in the darkness and the hanyou immediately reached out to clap her hands over the offending mouth. Her victim didn't struggle, but their body when tense in alarm.  
  
"Don't try anything stupid," Chitsuko whispered. "I won't hurt you if you do what I ask..."  
  
The figure nodded and snapped its fingers. A small orb hovering near the ceiling of the tent began to emmit a soft glow, bathing Chitsuko and her victim in a light lavendar wash.  
  
The girl glanced down at her captive. She had clamped her arms around a young woman with long fuschia-red hair and bright eyes. Her body was long, slender, and scantily clad: yellow cords snaked around her waist and thighs and over a large bust. Chitsuko's eye twitched; how could someone where so little and not feel in the slightest bit uncomfortable.  
  
She released her prisoner and the woman backed into a corner of the tent. She turned around, and one she had gotten a clear look at her attacker her body relaxed and she heaved a sigh of annoyance. "You're... You're just a little girl..." she said.  
  
"You don't know any better, so I won't comment on that." Chitsuko shifted so she could sit crossed-legged on the floor of the tent, covered with several colorful blankets. She gazed at the woman with one of her patented don't-be-fooled-by-what-you-see looks, guaranteed to tweek the nerves of even the most ruthless of youkai. She had given Itami the same look when he had brought her to Mukuro's for the first time, and it was the moment he underestimated her that he sealed his fate.  
  
The woman seemed to take the hint and she further attempted to squeeze herself into the corner. "What do you want from me?" Panic shone in her eyes.  
  
"Nothing, nothing! It's alright!" Chitsuko's abrupt change of attitude baffled the youkai. She held up her hands defensively and smiled nervously. "I won't hurt you, I'm just here to ask a few questions..."  
  
"Is it about Yokozuki?" Her interogatee's eyes grew wide and she shot up onto her knees, several of the cords that wound around her waist sliding down her thighs in the process. "I didn't WANT to join him in the first place, honest! He FORCED me! He broke into my mind and recruited me for his little band of ningen killers... said he needed my expertise in energy barriers... And I'm not even doing my job, you see! I let the barrier around the camp fall, and that's how you got through! Oh, if only someone could get me out of here, but he'd hunt me down and kill me before I could get far enough away..."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" A sweatdrop rolled down the kitsune's temple. "I AM here to know more about Yokozuki, but I'm looking for a friend on mine. His name is Touya. Do you know him?"  
  
The woman seemed to calm down slightly, and her breathing began to become steady once more. "Oh, Touya, yes I know him. We were in the same tribe before Yokozuki came along... We were both in the last Ankoku Bujutsukkai..."  
  
"So I picked the right tent," Chitsuko said with a soft smile. "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Ruka, Master of Kekkai and Spell Defense Incantations." Ruka had finally relaxed completely and now sat opposite Chitsuko, toying with one of the loose cords around her chest. "And who are you?"  
  
"Chitsuko Ichihara." The girl extended her hand, happy that Ruka was warming up to her, and the woman took it.  
  
"Chitsuko... That sounds like a name the ningens would use..."  
  
"It is a ningen name."  
  
Ruka looked thoroughly surprised. "And are you a ningen?"  
  
"Well... sort of..."  
  
"A HALF-BREED?"  
  
"Shhhh!" Chitsuko whined, glancing frantically towards the mouth of the tent. "If someone hears you I'm dead meat..."  
  
Ruka nodded, then leaned in closer towards the girl. "ARE you a hanyou?" she whispered.  
  
Chitsuko nodded. "Yes, I am..."  
  
"But your spirit energy is so strong..."  
  
Chitsuko stared at Ruka for a long moment. Despite the woman's less-than-modest appearance, she looked like someone who could be trusted. Her body was still curled up into as small a space as possible, allowing Chitsuko to deduce that one of her current emotions was fear. And from the aura of energy that floated around her, the kitsune picked up pangs of terror and sadness.  
  
"If I tell you something..." Chitsuko said quietly, "do you promise not to tell anyone?"  
  
Ruka smiled. "Who would I tell?"  
  
The fox giggled quietly, then began her tale. "I'm from the past, actually. My spirit, anyway. I was born in Makai five hundred years ago to a kitsune youko and a ningen. I don't know what happened to my father, but my mother was killed shortly after I was born. A friend of hers sent my spirit to the future to be reborn, and somehow I found my way into a ningen body..."  
  
"I know that tale..." Ruka breathed. "You wouldn't happen to be..." She stopped mid-sentence and shook her head, laughing to herself. "No, you can't be her..."  
  
"Can't be who?"  
  
"I just thought, your stories sound so similar, it's crazy... You can't be the infamous Hanyou Kohana..."  
  
Chitsuko's eyes locked on Ruka's. A spark of understanding shot between them.  
  
"...Can you?"  
  
The kitsune chuckled wryly.  
  
The Kekkai Master's mouth dropped open. "No..." She shook her head in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Trying to stop your darling master while attemping to avoid the wrath of Mukuro."  
  
"Mukuro?"  
  
"I work for her. King Enma sent me here as a Spirit Detective. I was supposed to help the remaining loyal Shinobi tribes stop Yokozuki, but Mukuro's soldiers found me first, and... well, now I work for her..."  
  
Ruka was silent for a long moment. She crawled to the opening of the tent and pulled back the flap just enough for her to peek out into the dark night. All around them the lights in the other tents were flickering out, but the fires in front of them burned steadily.  
  
"Everyone is settling in for the night..." The woman youkai turned to look at Chitsuko. "You said you needed to speak with the Ice Master Touya?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded. "It's impertive I speak with him. I won't be able to sleep at night unless I do."  
  
Ruka nodded, then slipped outside, the flaps sliding shut behind her. A moment later one slender hand reached inside, beconing the hanyou to follow. "Come with me, Kohana..."  
  
"Please," the girl murmured as she took the offered hand and followed it outside. "Call me Chitsuko."  
  
The Kekkai Master gave their surroundings a quick glance before sprinting off to the outskirts of the camp where night lay the thickest. Chitsuko ran after her, marvelling at how the loosely-wrapped cords stayed around Ruka's body without so much as slipping down.  
  
"Why are we out here?" she whispered when they stopped behind the thick trunk of an ancient oak.  
  
"Touya's tent is one the ones closest to Yokozuki's. If we run among the tents we'll be caught. By sticking to the edge of the camp we have a lesser risk of being found." Ruka darted off into the darkness, staying close to the line of trees that surrounded the camp.  
  
Chitsuko followed her, flitting silently over the ground like a breath of air. Thank you, youko agility... she thought to herself as she followed her guide behind two slender trees. They had completely encircled the camp. Before them sat several brightly-colored fires; blue, green, chartruese, yellow. The girls looked through them to the center of the camp, where a steady white fire burned in front of a tent that was larger than the rest of them.  
  
Ruka pointed to the larger tent. "That is Yokozuki's tent." She then pointed to a smaller tent next to it with an ice-blue fire burning before it. "That is Touya's."  
  
"Right..." Chitsuko crouched close to the ground, one leg stretched out behind her, ready to dash off in the direction of Touya's tent.  
  
"This is where I leave you," Ruka said quietly. "I have to get back to my own tent. Run as fast as you can so as to avoid confrontation, don't make too much noise, and most importantly..." the youkai's voice dropped to a low whisper, "keep your mind closed and your energy at bay. Yokozuki will be on you in a heartbeat if you do not."  
  
"So in other words I can't prepare for an attack..."  
  
Ruka shook her head. "Better to be safe than sorry." She turned to go. "Good luck, Chitsuko-san."  
  
"Thank you, Ruka-san." Then without looking back, Chitsuko sprang forward and darted into the Shinobi camp once more.  
  
She flew over the grass, her feet barely touching the ground between steps. Her heart thudded in her ears and she held her breath, her eyes locked on the ice-blue flames that guarded the entrance to her friend's tent...  
  
At last see reached it; the clearing had been bigger than she thought. Panting, she let out a small amount of energy, just enough to let the tent's inhabitant know who it was crouching outside the opening.  
  
The tent flap opened and Touya's pupiless eyes, clear as ice, shone in the dancing flames. He motioned for Chitsuko to enter and she crawled inside, panting quietly.  
  
"How did you get in here?!" There was obvious concern in her friend's voice, a harsh whisper. "You could've gotten caught!"  
  
"But I didn't. Your friend Ruka lead me to you."  
  
In the darkness, the Ice Master shifted. "How did you managed to persuade her to do so?"  
  
"First I scared the crap out of her, then I befriended her."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"Touya." Chitsuko took a deep breath, ready to get down to business. "Touya, I need to know... Why are you doing this?"  
  
Touya bowed his head and hugged his legs to his chest. "I am not here by choice..."  
  
"Then why ARE you here?"  
  
The Ice Master's voice was dripping with sorrow and remorse as he spoke. "He forced me to join him... But not the same way as he forced Ruka and the others. He used his powers to coerce them onto his side, catching them in a trap before they realized exactly what they were doing. But some of the demons that join him decide to aid his cause simply because they like him. He was once very popular among the Shinobi, and his still is now... except with those that know the error of his terrible ways... Once he recruits you, you can never leave him... He may seem innocent, but he has his ways of keep your loyalty... On me he used blackmail. Or rather, he gave me a choice. He knew I knew the infamous Hanyou Kohana, the one with the unnamed power that everyone wanted... You... He probed my mind, found the identities of my close friends, and threatened their demise if I didn't join him. He said he didn't have anyone who specialize in ice attacks, and if he was going to have one he wanted the best. If I said no, he would hunt down and kill everyone that I knew... including you. So I did the only thing I could do... I joined him to protect you and everyone else..."  
  
"Ohh... Touya..." Chitsuko reached out and gave the Ice Master's hand a comforting squeeze. "I... I'm sorry..."  
  
"It's not your fault..." Touya turned away. "Thankfully he hasn't gotten to Jin yet..."  
  
"And I'll make sure he never does."  
  
There was a long, painful silence between them. And then, "I want to kill him..."  
  
"What?" Chitsuko choked on the word.  
  
"I want to kill him..." Touya repeated. "When the time is right, and his defenses are down, I'm going to kill him... This reign of terror needs to end..."  
  
"Touya, the second Mukuro lets me go I'll come to help you..."  
  
"No, you can't!" Touya cut her off. "He'll kill you, he knows the power you possess and he wants it for himself! He thinks that once he gathers enough power he can lead his men into Ningenkai and destroy every human alive in a world wide holocaust. Complete genocide of the human race. You can't let him get you..."  
  
"MASTER YOKOZUKI! MASTER YOKOZUKI!" The sheer volume of the voice made Chitsuko and Touya freeze. Outside, someone raced past their tent, stopping before the crackling white fire at the neighboring tent's opening. "MASTER YOKOZUKI, THERE'S A NINGEN IN THE CAMP!"  
  
Panic overcame Chitsuko and her spirit energy went haywire in her veins, instantly making herself an easier target. Touya grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to the mouth of the tent.  
  
"Go! Run fast and don't look back!"  
  
She turned saddened blue-gray eyes on her friend as he pulled back the flap. "But... Touya..."  
  
"GO!"  
  
The Ice Master pushed her out of the tent and darted out into the clearing behind her. Chitsuko stumbled, then, regained her balance, shot off towards the surrounding trees. All around her youkai were climbing out of their tents, raised by the new of human in their midst. Some were grinning wickedly, other were licking their lips. Few saw the golden-haired girl that streaked past them, fear making her legs pump faster.  
  
"THERE SHE IS!"  
  
The shouting around her grew louder. Several youkai appeared before her, blocking her path of escape. Quickly she turned and shot off to her left, only to be obstructed by a short yet muscular youkai wearing a dark green Shinobi icon on the belt around his waist.  
  
"She's over here, boys!" he shouted, turning his tight-skinned brown face to Chitsuko with a smirk. He crouched to ground and dug his fingers into the ground, pulling up soil and grass. A dark green energy radiated from his hands and seeping into the earth under his palms.  
  
The ground beneath her rolled, knocking the girl off balance and sending her flying into a nearby tent. The tent came down under her weight, and the shattering of broken glass announced that something had been broken. Quickly Chitsuko rolled over and sprang onto her feet, reaching one hand around to feel her back for injuries. Her fingers ran over several tears in the back of her shirt and several small cuts that had begun to bleed.  
  
"Chitsuko!"  
  
The kitsune turned to see Ruka. The tent that had been destroyed had been hers, and the lavendar fire near the opening had gone out. "Keep running!" she shouted, glancing nervously as the angry mob of Shinobi that now flooded towards the hanyou. "I'll keep them back..."  
  
Chitsuko nodded. "Thank you..." she whispered, unheard, as she sprinted towards the trees, tall and straight, cloaked by night. All she desired at that moment was to reach those trees, pass those trees, lose herself in those trees...  
  
Suddenly she tripped. Her body flew forward and she slammed into the ground, skidding the remaining distance to the trees, her body sliding to a halt just beyond the trunk of the nearest tree.  
  
There was a loud crackling noise and then a cry of outrage. From her place on the ground, Chitsuko looked up to see the throng of angry youkai yelling angrily at her from behind a lavendar screen of light crackling with energy. They waved their weapons in the air, yelling curse words at the half-ningen that now lay sprawled on the ground covered in sweat, blood, and dirt.  
  
"Ruka..." Chitsuko whispered in understanding as she hauled herself shakily to her feet. She turned to run further away, her heartbeat beginning to slow down to normal...  
  
"Hanyou Kohana."  
  
The girl stopped, her breath catching in her throat. Slowly she turned to meet the fiery orange eyes of Yokozuki.  
  
He was grinning, and beside him stood Ruka, one of his muscular arms wrapped around her shoulders, her eyes downcast. Her entire body was rigid and energy poured from her body and into the barrier that held the tribe back.  
  
"We were visited by a celebrity and you didn't tell us?" he asked Ruka, still smiling. When the woman didn't answer, he laughed. "Hanyou Kohana, what a sight..."  
  
"How do you...?"  
  
"Well, I felt a strangely powerful energy in the camp... yes, that's right, you can't mask your power from me... so I knew that someone undoubtly strong was here. I smelled human flesh, but the energy I felt surely couldn't belong to a mere human... So I reached out with my mind and found two people who knew the identity of our little vistor. My dear Ruka here..." he gave her a playful shake, but she remained resolute, "and the Ice Master, Touya." Yokozuki tapped one finger to his left temple. "My mind is sharper than any sword."  
  
Chitsuko opened her mouth to speak, but Yokozuki held up a hand.  
  
"Ah ah ah, don't say anything." Suddenly his eyes turned hard and his smile faded. "I'm letting you go this time. Ruka here is holding us all back, and I don't intend to break her concentration..." He reached out to touch the barrier, then recoiled as a bolt of lavendar energy shocked his hand. "We will meet again, Hanyou Kohana..."  
  
Chitsuko, unsure whether he was finished speaking on not, stayed rooted to the spot. Yokozuki was by the far the most confusing enemy she had faced so far... And he was letting her go! She felt dizzy and numb with confusion as a cold feeling slid into her mind, making her shiver violently.  
  
"We could stand here all night," Yokozuki said, the smile returning to his face. "I have nothing better to do." The youkai behind him were grumbling restlessly, and most were sulkily retreating back to their tents. "If you want I could go get Touya and the four of us could have a little chat. We could talk about the weather, or the results of the Makai Bujutsukkai, or even your blunder in getting caught up in Mukuro's service..."  
  
Chitsuko shook her head to rid him from her mind. She felt his cool presence leave her as she took a step back, her eyes still focused on the revolt leader's disgustingly friendly smile.  
  
"...Well?" Yokozuki prompted.  
  
At once Chitsuko turned and, without looking back, fled into the safety of the trees. And only the darkness heard her whimpers, and only the moonlight caught its reflection in her tears as she ran back to Mukuro's palace, her confusion giving way to blind sorrow and utter frustration. 


	11. Chapter 10 Too Late To Turn Back

Think THAT was bad? It gets worse....  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 10: Too Late To Turn Back  
  
Mayaka carefully wove her way through the maze of futons, a human patient sleeping soundlessly in each one. She cradled the wooden tea tray against her chest so as not to spill any of the hot liquid. "Chit-chan?" she called out softly, scanning the sea of white sheets for any sign of her friend.  
  
She found the golden-haired hanyou kneeling beside two futons that had been pushed together. The small children they had found a few days before, Koete and Sami, were sleeping peacefully beneath the covers. The scratches and bruises that had previously marked their skin were completely gone, and the looks on their faces as they slept were serene.  
  
"Chit-chan?" Mayaka said again as she sank to her knees beside the girl and set the tea tray on the floor. She didn't wait for an answer before raising the mug off the tray and holding it out to Chitsuko. "I brought you some tea. Drink up while its still warm."  
  
Chitsuko nodded her thanks and took the mug, but did not drink it. She held it in her lap as she stared silently at the sleeping children, her expression unreadable.  
  
Mayaka shifted uncomfortably in the awkward silence. It had been three days since Chitsuko had disappeared for an entire day, only to show up at the palace the next morning covered in dirt and blood. Whatever had happened to her out there in the Makai wilderness, she wouldn't speak of it. All she had told them was that Touya had been forced to join Yokozuki's forces. After that, she would say nothing.  
  
The human girl decided that an attempt at pleasant conversation would be the best choice of action. "So... how are they doing?" she asked, motioning to Koete and Sami.  
  
"They're being sent home tomorrow. A group of Mukuro's most trustworthy soldiers are escorting them through to Ningenkai. Like always..." Chitsuko brought the mug to her lips, took a small sip of the warm liquid, then lowered it back into her lap.  
  
"And their injuries?"  
  
"Full recoveries. Both of them."  
  
"That's good..."  
  
Mayaka studied the kitsune for a long moment, her honey-colored eyes running up and down her form. There were times when Chitsuko was so open, so happy, that you could see her inner joy through her eyes. Those stormy blue-gray hues would sparkle like diamonds, and whatever she felt would be caught by those around her. But then there were times when she seemed to shut herself off from the world. The hanyou would close in on herself and put up barricades of silence and stolidness. Nothing could pull her out of her moods but herself, and if she was thinking deeply, it would take a long time for her to return to the world around her.  
  
The ningen put a hand on Chitsuko's shoulder. "I'm going to bed now, 'kay?"  
  
The hanyou replied with a nod.  
  
A bit disappointed and worried for her friend, Mayaka picked up the tea tray and got to her feet. "Good night, Chit-chan... Don't stay up too late..." She carefully made her way around the sleeping patients, then slipped out into the hallway without another word.  
  
Chitsuko sighed, grateful that she was alone again. She reached over to tuck the two children snuggly under the blankets before standing up and making her way out of the infirmary. On her way out she set her still-steaming mug of tea down on a counter. She had no energy to drink it and keep it down, much less return the dirty mug to the kitchens several floors downstairs.  
  
She wandered lethargically up the stairs and onto the floor where Mukuro and her best soldiers slept, Chitsuko being one of them herself. The ex-Makai Lord put much faith in the hanyou, but the girl suspected that her respect came from her power and her power alone. If I was weak, she thought, no one would respect me... Hell, no one would even like me, I bet... I probably wouldn't have this many friends if I was as powerless as any human... Maybe they all pretend to be my friends because they're afraid of me... But no, I look too harmless for ANYONE to be afraid of me...  
  
One of the doors opened with a soft creak. Chitsuko looked up to see Mukuro step into the hallway, dressed in her usual nighttime attire, a dark purple robe with matching pants, tied with a lavendar sash. The expression on Mukuro's face was hard to read through Chitsuko's unfocused eyes.  
  
"Mukuro-sama?"  
  
Chitsuko walked towards her mistress, rubbing her eyes to clear them of the mental fog. She blinked several times, then abruptly stopped, her hands flying to her mouth.  
  
"What happened to your face?!"  
  
The entire right side of her face, which was usually hidden by a crinkled white piece of fabric and bandages, was uncovered, revealing a deeply mauled cheek and forehead, the muscles in her face exposed. Her right eye had no eyelid and the pupil was small. The woman looked completely surprised to see Chitsuko standing in the hallway.  
  
"Chitsuko..."  
  
"Are you alright?" The girl approached her mistress, her eyes shining with concern. "Who did that to you?"  
  
To her surprise, Mukuro let out a soft chuckle. "My face? It has been this way for a while. And yes, I am quite alright."  
  
"Who did that to you?"  
  
Mukuro gazed down at the half-human girl. She seemed to genuinely care about the condition of her face. If there was one thing she had noticed about Chitsuko Ichihara from the start, it was her big, compassionate heart.  
  
But deep down Mukuro knew that to be more of a liability than an asset.  
  
She smiled and motioned into her chambers. "Come in. It's a long story..."  
  
Chitsuko nodded and scampered into the room. Mukuro followed her, shutting the door behind her. The hanyou glanced around nervously, looking for a place to sit down, before her mistress pointed towards the large bed against one wall draped with black and white sheets. The girl obediantly crossed over to it while Mukuro sauntered slowly into the room, leisurely making her way over to the bed.  
  
"I was abandoned when I was still a baby. A slave trader found me, hoping he could make some money off a beautiful little girl... I was very pretty when I was little..." She looked over at Chitsuko, curled up on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest, her stormy blue-gray eyes wide and bright. "Like you. Flawless."  
  
Chitsuko blushed. "Thank you..."  
  
Mukuro chuckled and continued. "I would have loved finding someone else to take me in, someone undoubtly kinder than he was... But he kept me for himself, putting me to use in the worst way possible..."  
  
The hanyou's eyes widened. "No... Not..."  
  
The woman slowly nodded, and the girl's hands flew to her mouth.  
  
"I-I'm sorry..."  
  
"It's alright..." Mukuro's reassurance made Chitsuko relax, and she resumed the telling of her tale. "When I was around seven years old, I couldn't take it anymore. I poured acid over the right side of my body, permanently disfiguring myself in hopes that he would leave me alone if I was ugly... It was hardest task I ever had to do... maul myself to stay alive, to stay safe... and he threw me out with the chamber pots. I remained chained, and for a long time I struggled through the wilderness, through blizzards and storms. When I discovered the chains around my wrists wouldn't break, I tried to drown myself... But that didn't work either. So I resigned myself to fighting...  
  
"It was many years later that those shackles finally cracked and fell from my wrists. It was during the Makai Bujutsukkai... I'm sure you've heard of it... It was Hiei who cracked those shackles with his attack. He freed me from my psycological torment. He was the only person who ever told me the truth, the only person I could ever identify with..."  
  
"So that's why Hiei works for you..." Chitsuko said, shifting so her legs could dangle over the side of the bed.  
  
"Hiei is more or less... my friend." Mukuro sat down on the bed beside Chitsuko.  
  
"Mine too..." the girl returned quietly.  
  
"I didn't know that you and Hiei knew each other so well..." The ex-Makai Lord smiled warmly. "And now its your turn to tell me a story."  
  
The girl turned her gaze on Mukuro. The woman looked friendly, inviting. She didn't seem dangerous or threatening at that moment, sitting beside her in her pajamas, her scarred face exposed...  
  
Mukuro had willingly opened herself up to Chitsuko. And now Chitsuko would open herself up to Mukuro.  
  
"If I tell you... promise you won't kill me?"  
  
"Kill you?" Mukuro laughed. "Why would I kill you?"  
  
"Because..." Chitsuko dropped her gaze to the floor. "I'm a hanyou..."  
  
The woman has suspected it all along; it came as no surprise to her when Chitsuko admitted it. "Go on."  
  
"I was born in Makai about five hundred years ago. My father was a ningen, and he worked with a band of demon hunters who killed for money. My mother was a kitsune youko, and she was a partner to the infamous thieves Youko Kurama and the chimera Kuronue... Before I was born my father disappeared, and after I was born my mother was brutally murdered. My mother made Kurama proimse to take care of me, but he was unable to, so he sent my spirit into the void in hopes of being reborn. As fate would have it I became Chitsuko Ichihara, the girl you see now..."  
  
"And who are you really?" Mukuro asked gently.  
  
The girl bowed her head and closed her eyes. "My name is Hanyou Kohana."  
  
Mukuro could not believe her ears. "The infamous half-breed?" Althought the strength of the girl's spirit energy had let on of her youkai nature, never did Mukuro suspect her of being the renegade hanyou...  
  
"The very same."  
  
"Your deeds are spoken of throughout the realms. It is said that you hold an ancient, unnamed power flowing through your veins. Is it true that you aided the Reiki Tantei in the destruction of the demon who escaped from Hell, Gouka?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded, her eyes still closed.  
  
"So then you know the Reiki Tantei personally..."  
  
"Yes... Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara were my first true friends. They introduced me to Hiei and the reincarnation of Youko Kurama..."  
  
"Then why have you left Ningenkai if you are an ally to them?"  
  
A low, wry chuckled escaped the girl's throat. "I'm here on punishment."  
  
"Punishment?"  
  
"From King Enma. During that battle you've heard so much about I broke several Reikai laws, including running off to Hell while still alive and hiding the whereabouts of a notoriously sadistic and dangerous demon soul that had escaped from the world of the dead... He went easy on me; he could have easily had me tortured or even killed for those stunts. But instead I was assigned as Spirit Detective to Makai..."  
  
"Spirit Detective. Now I see... So, what is your current assignment?"  
  
With a small sigh, Chitsuko opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a loud boom echoed throughout the castle. A second later there was on knock on Mukuro's bedroom door.  
  
"You may enter," Mukuro called.  
  
A youkai about Chitsuko's size stood in the doorway. Matted purple hair stuck out in all directions, and a brown tunic was draped over a heavy-set body covered in olive-green skin.  
  
"Mukuro-sama," he said quickly, "there's someone at the castle door."  
  
"Who?" his mistress asked as she stood up. Chitsuko did the same and followed her out into the hallway behind the messenger.  
  
"We don't know. He won't say what he wants until he speaks with you..."  
  
Mukuro and Chitsuko flew down the stairs in the messenger's wake. At the bottom of the large staircase stood Hiei, waiting patiently, it seemed, for his mistress's arrival before inspected the visitor himself. When he saw Chitsuko, he waited for her to reach him before following Mukuro.  
  
"Who is it?" the girl asked, walking beside him.  
  
"Don't know," the Jaganshi replied. "The guards are too stupid to identify him, so we'll find out now."  
  
Ahead of them, Mukuro halted, waiting for the two of them to catch up. "I'll need my best soldiers of backup, incase this is the prelude to an attack..." Chitsuko caught Mukuro's eyes eye and smiled slightly at the woman's faith in her. She took her place on Mukuro's right side while Hiei fell into step on her left.  
  
In the large, dimly-lit entrance hall, the doors to the outside were wide open. Just inside the massive doorway stood three bald men in skin-tight green clothing and light armor. They stood side-by-side, the one in the middle considerably shorter and less muscular than the other two. Chitsuko recognized them at once.  
  
"Hokushin..." she murmured.  
  
Whether he had heard her or not, Chitsuko couldn't tell. But the general spotted her, and his face cracked into a small smile.  
  
Her attentioned turned to where Mukuro was staring. Before the generals stood a boy who looked to be just slightly younger than herself. His skin was a creamy peach and his black hair hung slightly in his eyes and over two pointed ears. At the front of his head, a single small horn poked through his inky tresses. He wore white pants and a regal purple vest over a long white shirt trimmed in gold. A travelling cloak of the deepest crimson sat over his shoulders, and his black boots were polished.  
  
"Well then..." Mukuro said quietly. "Haven't you grown..."  
  
The boy nodded. "Mukuro, I am here on official business from my father. Sources tell me that you are housing the hanyou Chitsuko Ichihara. If this is true, I wish to speak to her..."  
  
The voice sounded familiar, but was richer and slightly deeper than she remembered. "I'm here!" she piped up softly, raising her hand ever so slightly to the alert the boy to her presence.  
  
The boy turned to look at her, the dim torchlight throwing shadows over his face and making it hard for her to distinguish his features.  
  
"Chitsuko..." the boy breathed her name like a prayer, then slowly came forward. When he was directly in front of her, he bowed, then gently took one hand and kissed it.  
  
"Uhhhh..." Chitsuko nervously bit her lip.  
  
"Forgive me, I didn't not recognize you. It had been over a year since we last saw each other. Of course, my genetic enhancement makes one year seem more like several when they fall over me..." He straightened up to smile at her, the torchlight flickering over eyes of the lightest, softest red...  
  
Chitsuko knew that smile, those eyes. Her own lit up with delight and squeezed the hand that held hers.  
  
"Shura!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So what brings you all the way out here?"  
  
Chitsuko and Shura sat at the small table in Chitsuko's room, sipping steaming mugs of green tea. Hokushin and Yomi's other two generals stood at the doorway, guarding them for anyone who might interfere with their conversation. Mayaka, who had been sleeping when Shura arrived, had been moved into another room so the two could be alone.  
  
"I'm here to warn you, Chitsuko-chan." Yomi's genetically engineered son took a long drink from his mug, then set it down on the table. "Does everyone here know you're Hanyou Kohana?"  
  
"Only Mukuro, Hiei, and the ningen girl Mayaka."  
  
"You should keep it that way..." Shura's voice dropped to a low murmur. "There are a lot of people after you, you know..."  
  
"Who doesn't?" the girl rolled her eyes and set her own mug down. "I'm starting to get tired of it. I'm making more enemies than I am friends."  
  
"Unfourtunately for you, it may always be that way..." Shura sighed. "But back to my warning..." He cleared his throat. "Yokozuki and his band of human-hunters have placed a bounty on your head."  
  
"WHAT?!" Chitsuko sprang to her feet, upsetting her mug of tea. It slid off the table and crashed to the floor, the hot liquid spilling everywhere.  
  
"Please, Chit-chan!" Shura got up also, moving around the table to grip the girl by the shoulders. "You'll wake everyone up..."  
  
"A BOUNTY?!" she screeched. "A DAMN BOUNTY?! WHAT THE..."  
  
She was cut off as Shura clapped one hand over her mouth. "Don't scream, they'll think I'm molesting you or something..."  
  
Chitsuko's eyebrows knitted themselves together and she mumbled something under the boy's hand.  
  
"Listen to me... They're after you. They're ALL after you. Yokozuki has notified those Shinobi tribes that have recently turned themselves over to him and any other youkai who has joined his cause. He's offering a huge reward of priceless hiruiseki for your capture. He wants you alive. And he knows you'll do anything to protect your friends..."  
  
The girl's eyes widened. Yokozuki had found her ultimate weakness.  
  
"He knows your liability... He knows how compassionate you are." Shura let her go. "And he will do anything to get your power. You are the main threat to his cause and the only person who stands in his way. As Makai's Spirit Detective he knows that you can't back down from this case..."  
  
Chitsuko swallowed hard. "I hate this..."  
  
Shura's expression softened and he pulled the girl to him in a hug. "It's alright Chitsuko-chan." Before he stepped back he planted a light kiss on the girl's cheek. "I'll do anything I can to help you. I promise."  
  
The hanyou smiled at him. "Thank you, Shura-kun..." She wiped her tearing eyes on the back of her hand.  
  
"Yokozuki's influence has spread farther than we think. There's no telling where he'll strike next, who he'll bring down... And there's no way to track him, either. His actions are unpredictable." Shura caught Chitsuko's eye and held her gaze, his own stern with a hint of anxiety. "It's too late to turn back now. He's pulled us into his game. All we can do is stand around... and wait for him to make the next move." 


	12. Chapter 11 The Greatest Danger

RETURN OF THE KING WAS BEST GOD DAMN MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Elijaaaaaaaaaahh........ ^^ 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3.....  
  
GO SEE IT! =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
P.S. YAY FOR THE REFERNCE TO CHAPTER 9 OF KOKITSUNE! =^^= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 11: The Greatest Danger  
  
For the next few days, the weather began to change to that of summer's end. Already the first signs of fall had begun to show themselves. The nights began to grow longer and cooler, and the last summer flowers were beginning to droop. The pounding heat of the day had grown considerably lighter, and the noonday sun no longer posed any threat to the weary traveller. Mukuro granted Shura and Yomi's generals temporary lodging in the castle; the young heir of Yomi slept peacefully in a room opposite Chitsuko and Mayaka's, while the generals stood guard inside his doorway. Chitsuko and Shura spent their time together happily, recalling fond memories of their meeting and discussing the Makai Bujutsukkai, of which Shura did most of the talking.  
  
And then came the rain.  
  
It rained all day and all night. The hard-packed soil slowly yielded into mud while the sky became a gloomy dome of gray. Little sunlight broke through the cloud cover, and the small amount that did was devoid of any real light or warmth by the time it reached the ground. Rivers, streams, and ponds inundated, making forests fields impassable. The rain fell hard and relentlessly, filling the atmosphere with a nasty, biting cold that seeped through the skin and to the bone.  
  
Mukuro called all her soldiers off of work. There was no way anyone could do any successful scouting in the water-logged Makai wildneress. Any humans that passed into the Demon World were on their own; they would probably die before anyone found them, anyway.  
  
Training sessions and meetings were cancelled. Even the most malevolent of Mukuro's youkai minions seemed to be disenheartened by the torrential downpour. They moved lethargically around the castle, relighting extinguished torches and passing time by sharpening and cleaning their weapons.  
  
A week after Shura's arrival, it was still raining. Chitsuko, Mayaka, Hiei, Shura and Yomi's generals had congregated in the hanyou's room. A fire was burning steadily in the granite alcove that served as a fireplace set into one wall. The girls were huddled on the floor before it, one arm around each other for extra warmth, sipping tea. Behind them, Hiei and Shura kneeled at a low table. The Jaganshi was busily cleaning his katana, while the young master wrote intently with an ink brush on a large sheet of paper. Hokushin and the other two generals stood behind him, watching him write.  
  
"Hey, Chit-chan," Mayaka said softly. "Remember Shigo?"  
  
Chitsuko raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what about him?"  
  
"Well, remember how perverted he was? He was so good-looking, but then he turned out to be this perverted demon that escaped from Hell with dreams of world domination." She emmitted something between an exasperated sigh and a giggle. "Remember that one letter he wrote you? And Kaito found it and accidentally read it out loud?"  
  
The hanyou giggled. "How do you 'accidentally' read something out loud? He knew was he was doing..." She rolled her eyes. "Ungh, remember what is said?"  
  
"Uh huh!" Mayaka set down her mug of tea and sat up straight. "Chitsuko," she said, her voice now low in mocking of Shigo's as she quoted the said letter. "I cannot say everything I want to say in this note... Blah blah blah ravishing beauty blah blah blah gorgeous blah blah blah something about twinkling eyes..."  
  
Hiei looked over at the two of them. Chitsuko was obviously amused, and Mayaka took this as a signal to go further.  
  
"Oh, Chitsuko!" she continued in that same low voice. "I want to kiiiiiiiiiiiiiss you, I want to liiiiiick you, I want to...."  
  
"Stop, stop!" Chitsuko put her mug aside and tackled her friend. "I never want to hear that again, UNGH! He was a CREEP! And a DEAD creep at that!"  
  
"Oh Chit-chan!" Mayaka called out, laughing between cries. "Chit-chaaaaaan!"  
  
"STOOOOP!"  
  
The two girls were rolling on the floor, giggling madly in a tangle of slender limbs and black and golden hair. By now they had caught the attention of Shura and the generals, and all four men watched as Chitsuko and Mayaka laughed themselves to tears. Shura glanced at Hiei, who replied simply, "Hn. Women."  
  
At last the two calmed down and sat up, wiping away the last few tears of mirth from the corners of their eyes. "Those were the good old days," Chitsuko sighed ."Back in Ningenkai..."  
  
"Mmhmm..." Mayaka nodded, her jovial smile sliding into one of sadness. Her honey-colored eyes still held the remnants of a few tears. Chitsuko reached over to wipe them away with one finger.  
  
"Mayaka-chan, what's wrong?"  
  
The human girl sighed, searching her mind for a way to simplify her answer...  
  
Chitsuko immediately understood. "You miss home..."  
  
Mayaka nodded. "I've been her for a long time now. I bet my grandparents are really worried..."  
  
"I know, I know..." The kitsune pulled her friend into a hug, gently stroking her raven-haired head. "We'll get you home, don't you worry... Whether it's before or after this revolt is over, we'll get Mukuro to let you go and I'll make sure you get home, safe and sound..."  
  
"Safe and sound..." Mayaka repeated breathlessly.  
  
"Hn." Hiei turned away from the sight and to Shura, who was still writing frantically, his brush flowing gracefully across the paper. "What are you writing?" he inquired.  
  
"I'm writing a letter to my father," the young master replied. "I just need to let him know that I'm alright and that I gave Chitsuko the message." He finished up his last few notes, then set the brush aside to let the ink dry. "I'll send it out with any messenger who's courageous enough to brave the storm, and once the rain stops I will return to my city."  
  
The rag in Hiei's hand paused over the blade. "Do you honestly think anyone would be out in this weather? Let alone by choice?"  
  
Shura ignored the Jaganshi's comment, rolled the sheet up, and tied the cylinder of paper shut with a purple ribbon. "Some crazy person is bound to be out there..."  
  
On cue, there was a loud, pounding noise downstairs.  
  
"That's odd..." Chitsuko stood up and crossed to the door, undoing the latch and swinging it open. Another pounding noise, this time more prolonged than the first. The hanyou took one step out into the hallway and was almost immediately trampled on by Mukuro's messenger.  
  
"MUKURO-SAMA! MUKURO-SAMA!" He stopped before his mistress's chamber doors and began to bang on them with his fists. "MUKURO-SAMA, MUKURO-SAMA!" he screeched.  
  
"What's wrong? Who's here?" she asked, alarm creeping into her heart.  
  
The messenger turned to her, his deep green eyes alight with terror. "THE CASTLE IS UNDER ATTACK!"  
  
There was a loud groan downstairs, followed by two loud bangs. The foundations of the castle shook, and both girl and messenger were knocked off balance. At once Hiei was there to catch her, setting her back on her feet just as several loud screams echoed from below. A cool feeling, colder than the rainy air, slid into her mind and gripped her with panic.  
  
"Yokozuki... He's HERE!"  
  
The screams grew louder. Mayaka, Shura, and the generals flew to Chitsuko's side, eager for answers.  
  
"What's going on?" Mayaka sounded frightened.  
  
"It's Yokozuki..." Chitsuko squeezed her eyes shut, praying for it all to be nothing but one big nightmare.  
  
"We have to try and get out of here!" Shura said, grabbing onto Chitsuko's wrist and pulling her with him into the hallway.  
  
"Where will we go?" The kitsune planted her feet firmly on the ground, causing Shura to stumble and fall back beside her. "There's nowhere TO go! We'll drown if we set foot outside!"  
  
A loud, blood-curdling scream reached their ears, closer than the others.  
  
"Chitsuko, you're the smart one, think of something!" Mayaka squealed, gripping her friend's free arm.  
  
Hokushin spoke up. "We'll have to fight them."  
  
"FIGHT them? Are you CRAZY?!" Mayaka was indignant.  
  
"We still don't know how many of them there are..." Hiei said, tightening his grip on his sword. "But it's worth a look."  
  
"We'll go." Shura yanked Chitsuko out of Mayaka's grip and the two of them sped down the hallway. When they reached the opening to the huge granite staircase they ducked inside, flying down the first two flights of steps.  
  
"This is bad... This is so bad... He's found me..." Chitsuko murmured to herself.  
  
At the second landing Chitsuko slipped, falling flat on her back and hitting the side wall of the stairwell. The granite was hard and cold beneath her, and when she tried to sit up she slid further. It took a moment for her to realize that the granite had been covered with a solid sheet of ice. Looking around, she spotted smears of red and black on its clear surface, the remnants of one-living youkai.  
  
Behind her, Shura was still stood on the last unfrozen step. He leaned over as far as he could go, reaching out a hand to help her. "Chitsuko!"  
  
The girl reached out, only to find that she was moving farther and farther away from Shura. She was sliding slowly towards the end of the landing towards the long, steep drop of the stairs, now covered with ice to create a giant slippery slide to its bottom. Turning over onto her stomach, she reached out further. "Shura!"  
  
And then she crossed the threshold, and she was sliding down, down, down into the darkness of the stairwell.  
  
Shura, in an act of desperation, leapt out onto the ice and soon he was sliding with her into the cold, black atmosphere below.  
  
They slid fast, the friction between their bodies and the ice making their skin burn. The torches had been extinguished leaving them in total darkness. The screams and shouts of fury and terror were growing closer by the second. The two were speeding towards their demise with no way to stop it.  
  
Chitsuko flipped over onto her stomach, reaching out as she slid downwards for a handhold of any time. All she succeeded in doing was badly cutting and burning her hands as the floor rushed under her.  
  
"Chitsuko!" From somewhere next to her, Shura called out. "Find one of the wall sconces!"  
  
"That would be easily, considering THERE NO GOD DAMN LIGHT!" she shot back.  
  
"Hold on!" The hanyou heard the young youkai slide in front of her and to the other side, then a grunt as he hit the wall. "Okay!" he shouted.  
  
They were still sliding down at a rapid rate. She could hear the clang of metal on metal somewhere below her. Chitsuko felt Shura grab on to her arm and pull her behind him, her right side painfully scraping the granite wall. "What are you doing?"  
  
"On the count of three, jump with me."  
  
"Jump? I can barely STAND!"  
  
"I'm going to try to grab on to one of the wall sconces."  
  
"Okay..." Still unsure about her friend's course of action, Chitsuko reached out and wrapped her arms around Shura's waist. She heard him chuckle contentedly as she did so. "What?" she asked confusedly.  
  
"Oh nothing..." Shura dismissed it. "Ready?"  
  
"Ready..."  
  
"One... two... THREE!"  
  
Both Shura and Chitsuko planted their feet firmly on the ground and sprang upwards. They moved upwards in an arc and had started to come down when something jerked them back up, almost causing Chitsuko to let go of Shura.  
  
"Did you do it?"  
  
"Yes," Shura grunted as he shifted his hold on the sconce.  
  
"What do we do now?"  
  
There was a short pause. "Uhh... I haven't gotten their yet..."  
  
"Oh, SHURA!" Chitsuko wailed in dismay. "What are we going to do, hang here until one of those bloodthirsty human hunters finds us?"  
  
There was no reply. A huge gust of wind blew up into the stairwell, trying to force them in the opposite direction as the ice slide. Shura held onto the sconce for their lives, the two of them waving like flags in a hurricane wind. For a long moment they remained suspended there, Shura grunting with the effort of holding on to the sconce. Then, without a precedent, Shura's grip failed, and the two were blown backwards like ragdolls.  
  
Suddenly strong arms wrapped around them and its owner bore them in midair, the whirlwind continuing to rage around them. Chitsuko dared to open one eye, hoping their rescuer was friend and not foe. In the darkness, Chitsuko could barely make out the outline of a muscular body and shaggy-haired head, one horn sticking up from above the bangs...  
  
"JIN?!"  
  
The Wind Master smiled sadly down at Chitsuko and Shura. "Hey there, Chit-chan, Master Shura..." He nodded a greeting.  
  
Already cold tears had begun to collect in the hanyou's eyes. "Jin... No... You don't... You can't..."  
  
"I'm sorry lass..." he said quietly. "He got to me, that he did."  
  
"Jin..." Chitsuko moaned, burying her face in the Shinobi's muscular shoulder. "You can't... You just can't..."  
  
"JIN!" From somewhere nearby, Touya's voice sounded above the din. "They're starting to make their way upstairs, get Chitsuko and the other OUT of here!"  
  
"Righty-oh!" The redhead called back, rocketing up the stairwell with Shura and Chitsuko clasped in his arms, the latter still crying into his shoulder. "You're in the greatest danger here, Chit-chan. I'll get ya outside and then ya hafta find somewhere ta go..."  
  
"Like WHERE?" the girl shouted in frustration. "It's just as dangerous out there as it is in here! It's cold death out there, warm death in here." Her tone became sarcastic. "Hmmm, let's see... Do I want to die cold or warm? Cold or warm, cold or warm... Hmmm, THAT'S A TOUGHIE."  
  
When they reached the top of the stairwell and past the slide of ice that Touya had undoubtly created, Jin set them down. "You two grab yer friends 'n run. Me 'n Touya'll head 'em off yer trail..."  
  
"Jin..." Chitsuko whispered.  
  
The Wind Master reached out to ruffle the girl's hair. "Doncha be worryin' about me..." Then he lew down the stairwell and was swallowed by darkness.  
  
"You heard him, let's go!" Once again Shura reached out, grabbing Chitsuko's hand, and the bolted down the hallway, the sounds of battle retreating into the background.  
  
"Jin..." the kitsune murmured to herself. "He got Jin..."  
  
"Chitsuko! Shura!"  
  
Hokushin and Yomi's generals ran up to them, the leader's eyes shining with panic. "Are you two alright?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded weakly and wiped away the last of her tears. "They're making their way up the castle slowly but surely."  
  
"I don't know about slowly..." the general said nervously. "They've got a barrier up around the castle, straight up into the clouds. The rain's still getting in but it's keeping any of us from getting out."  
  
"What are we going to do?" Shura asked, frantic.  
  
"Mayaka and Hiei are on their way to one of the side stairwells that leads to the roof. I know it sounds crazy, but chances are we'll be the safest up there, where they can't see us..."  
  
Immediately Chitsuko set off at a run. Shura and his father's generals bolted after her, keeping their eyes trained on the fox's retreating figure. She led them down the high corridor, past Mukuro's bedroom and her own, all the way to the wall of black granite at its end. When she paused for a moment, her companions grew alarmed.  
  
"Chit-chan...?" Shura gentle set his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"HIEI?" The girl suddenly called out, shattering the silence that had gathered in that part of the castle, so far away from the battle below. "HIEI? MAYAKA?"  
  
"I advise you to be quiet, Kokitsune." Hiei appeared out of the shadows like a bolt of black lightning. "They'll hear you."  
  
"Where's Mayaka?"  
  
"She's waiting partway up. She'll be safe there. No one knows about this stairwell but Mukuro's highest soldiers and generals."  
  
A sudden explosion shook the floor beneath them, followed by several loud cries nearby. The six turned just in time to see several Shinobi, including Jin and Touya, emerge from the top of the main staircase.  
  
"Where is the half-breed?" one of them growled. "And the human girl! There's another one! This hallway reeks of humans!"  
  
"I don't know," Jin cut in quickly. "I don't smell anythin'."  
  
"'Course ya don't, ya fruity Wind Master!"  
  
"What are we standing around here for?" Hiei hissed, ushering the others into the shadows. "We have to MOVE!"  
  
In one corner of the hallway a small block of granite yielded to reveal a dark, open crawlspace large enough for a very muscular and very tall demon to crawl through. The six of them made it through the small tunnel with ease and into a larger space walled with the same black granite as everything else. Before them a narrow staircase climbed upwards in a spiral, no doubt leading to the room above where Mukuro held her meetings and councils. Small torches with flickering green flames cast an eerie glow over the steps.  
  
"Climb," Hiei said.  
  
They obeyed. The thought of her friend alone and afraid in the darkness of the stairwell prompted Chitsuko to climb the staircase as though the steps were on fire. Shura and the generals stayed closed behind her, while Hiei brought up the rear, his katana unsheathed and ready for use.  
  
At last the green light flung itself over a figure sitting on one of the steps. Mayaka sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes wide with fear. She gasped, startled, when Chitsuko approached her.  
  
"Chitsuko-chan... I thought you might've forgot about me..."  
  
"I could never forget you, Mayaka-chan."  
  
"This isn't the time for sappy sentiments." The Jaganshi plowed past them, ahead and upwards. "The faster I get you five up there the faster I can get back down and fight."  
  
"FIGHT?! Hiei, are you CRAZY?"  
  
"I'm not going to stand around and babysit a frazzled little fox while my team is being viciously slaughtered in our own home."  
  
Frazzled little fox? Chitsuko saw red. But despite the vicious anger nawing at her insides, begging her to unlease her verbal fury on the little fire demon for his words, she kept herself composed. She would chew him out good later.  
  
"Don't take it personally, Chitsuko," Hiei added no later than a few seconds after her thoughts had formed.  
  
Damn your telepathic abilities, Hiei...   
  
They reached the top of the stairwell sooner than they thought they wood. A small area the same size as the crawlspace held a three-step stairway leading into the ceiling. Hiei kneeled on the bottom step and pushed on the granite above. Much to everyone's surprise, it gave way to the Jaganshi's touch.  
  
Rain poured into the space, instantly drenching the small youkai. He turned to the others, his Jagan pulsing wildly. "They're all over the floor we just left. Quick, get up there."  
  
Hokushin and his two comrades ascended first, followed by Shura and Mayaka, both looking very uncomfortable. Chitsuko stayed rooted to the spot, dreading both the feeling of the cold rain and leaving her demon friend to fight alone.  
  
"Go on," the Jaganshi prompted.  
  
"No."  
  
"Get on the roof."  
  
"No."  
  
"You're in danger. Get on the roof."  
  
"No."  
  
Chitsuko recalled a similar conversation she had once with the Jaganshi over a bath.  
  
"Get on the roof."  
  
"You and your damn stubborness, Hiei..."  
  
"Just shut up and get on the roof."  
  
"No."  
  
"I said get on the roof."  
  
"No."  
  
"DAMNIT KOKITSUNE, GET ON THE GOD DAMN ROOF!"  
  
Calloused hands reached out, toned arms wrapped around her, and she was flung into a maelstrom of icy wet darts. Her side made contact with the granite and she skidded for a few feet before stopping.  
  
Chitsuko looked up to see a pair of bright ruby-red eyes gazing at her from the whole in the roof.   
  
"You threw me..."  
  
"Good observation."  
  
There was a short silence, before Chitsuko asked half-jokingly, "Aren't you going to ask me to take off my pants?"  
  
Those eyes rolled and a soft voice said, "Stay put." Then the eyes vanished.  
  
Chitsuko quickly sat up. Mayaka and Shura kneeled several feet away, while Yomi's generals stood guard behind them. The six of them were indeed on the roof. The granite beneath them was smooth and much to their discomfort there were no guardrails on its sides. To make matters worse, the wet granite was extremely slippery, and the air extremely cold.  
  
A soft lavendar shimmer encircled the building, stretching up into the sky like a big hollowed cynlinder in which the castle had been place. "Ruka..." Chitsuko whispered. "She's here too..."  
  
"What the hell are we going to do up here?" Shura pushed a limp strand of jet black hair out of his eyes, agitation registering clearly on his face.  
  
"I guess...we wait for something to happen..." Mayaka whispered.  
  
They didn't have to wait long. The air around them grew considerably colder and a loud crack filled the air. There was a split second of silence, and then a low roar rumbled deep within the center of the castle, causing it to tremble on its foundation.  
  
"...What was...?" Hokushin's voice tapered away into the rainy atmosphere.  
  
"I've never heard that noise before..." Chitsuko leaned over, pressing her ear to the granite beneath her.  
  
The roar was growing louder, accompanying the sound of shrieks and cries of agony.  
  
"Someone's attack?" the kitsune murmured, more to herself than to those around her.  
  
Suddenly the barrier around the castle and something long and black shot into the air above them. It swirled around in the air for a moment, twisting and turning, before settling into one position and turning two glowing white eyes on the company on the roof.  
  
It was a dragon. Its long, spiked body seemed to be made entire of black and purple fire. Its mouth was open, and its eyes were focused intently on the roof, glowing madly...  
  
"Get back inside!" Hiei reappeared through the trapdoor and made a beeline for Chitsuko. "It isn't safe up here!"  
  
Shura's right eye twitched. "But you just said..."  
  
"JUST GET DOWN THERE!"  
  
Mayaka and Shura were the first through the trapdoor, and the generals followed suit. Chitsuko held Hiei back, angering the Jaganshi and frustrating him to the point of annoyance.  
  
"Hiei, what is that dragon...?"  
  
"It's mine."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"One of my attacks, the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Now get inside, quickly..."  
  
"Why? Will it hurt me?"  
  
"Yes! I originally let it loose to destroy the human hunters, but their leader somehow used mind control to turn it away. The Shinobi are running for their lives right now, and I suggest you do the same while I try to control it..."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"The Dragon can sense immense power . It has sensed yours, and thus considers you a threat to itself."  
  
Chitsuko blinked once, very slowly.   
  
"And that means...?"  
  
"It'll try to eat you."  
  
"...GOD DAMNIT!" Chitsuko shot past Hiei in a mad dash for the trapdoor.  
  
The Dragon saw the move and plunged down after her, its jaws open, ready for a little snack...  
  
What happened next Chitsuko saw as a blur. From somewhere faraway Hiei was shouting, and when she turned to look at him her foot slipped on the wet granite. She began sliding, still on her feet, panicing finally settling it. Quickly she attempted to stop herself by falling to her knees, but instead of landing on her kness the wet granite brought her onto her back, giving her a full view of the spirtual dragon chasing her. Chitsuko let out and ear piercing scream and let go a wave of her spirit energy just as she passed over the edge of the roof and onto open air.  
  
Down, down, down... She was falling. And the Dragon continued to relentlessly plunge after her, its eyes sparkling greedily. Her wave of energy slammed into its malicious face just as its body began to pull back and a loud roar escaped from its mouth.  
  
The Dragon began to melt into black flames. Hiei's voice rang out again, its words garbled by the rain and wind that flew past the girl's ears, making them ring painfully. Quickly she sought to recall her energy and find some way to stop her fall.  
  
But when she felt her energy entering her once more, something else came with it. A sharp, searing pain that started in her chest and spread through her body. Flames licked at her insides, and ice stabbed at her heart. Chitsuko screamed again and pulled her energy back to protect her. This only made the pain greater.  
  
She turned her head, watching as the ground came closer and closer. A dozen figures were running about on the ground below her, shouting. She recognized her name. A coldness swept over her and fire reached its full force.  
  
Then her vision went black and she knew no more. 


	13. Chapter 12 Relentless

I've reached the ultimately depressing part of my story. Just in time for the holidays, too. T.T There's about six or seven chapters left in Liability. Rememory will be a feat within itself to write. I may finish Liability before the New Year, and if I work hard I will completely finish Rememory and the Kokitsune series by March.  
  
As my first reviewers remember, it was mid-March, 2003, that I began our beloved Chit-chan's story.  
  
Speaking of our beloved Chit-chan, just what the hell's happened to her, and just how serious is it THIS time?  
  
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays! =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 12: Relentless  
  
"Please... Please..."  
  
The words were whispered to deaf ears. Honey-colored eyes focused themselves on the body on the bed, eyes squeezed tightly shut, golden bangs plastered to a forehead matted with sweat, skin pasty and white. The girl's breath was coming in short, rattling gasps, shallow moans escaping through her pale lips every so often.  
  
Mayaka sighed as she watched Chitsuko. "What have you done to yourself now?" she whispered, gently tucking the black sheets around her friend's unresponsive form.  
  
On the other side of the bed, Shura placed a soft cloth into a bowl of warm water, then wrung it out and placed it on the kitsune's forehead. "She is notorious for acting on her gut instincts without thinking..."  
  
Hiei entered the room behind her, his black cloak slung over one shoulder, leaving his chest exposed. His ruby red eyes held no trace of the worry that Mayaka felt. "She won't wake for a while."  
  
Mayaka turned to face him. "How do you know?"  
  
"Because I know what she did." He tossed his cloak onto the floor beside the bed. "If I tell you, will the rest of you get out of my room?"  
  
"We're staying here and taking care of her," Shura said. "Knowing you, you'd probably sit back and watch her suffer."  
  
Hiei's eyes widened slightly and his Jagan glowed softly. "I advise you to learn when to shut your mouth, young master. One of these days it will get you into a danger your daddy can't drag you out of."  
  
Shura looked as though he had just been slapped.  
  
The Jaganshi perched himself at the foot of the bed, his bed, his eyes fixed on the girl sleeping beneath the sheets. "She has absorbed part of the Darkness Flame."  
  
"The what?" Mayaka blinked quizically.  
  
"The power of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, the dragon that I unleashed on the castle during the attack, is drawn from the Darkness Flame, a flame whose energy comes from the darkest depths of the underworld. Countless demons have tried to master its power. And during the last Ankoku Bujutsukkai, I began the first to do so..."  
  
"How?" the girl asked.  
  
"By absorbing it. I imbibed the Dragon, harnassing its power for my own. But in doing so I paid the price of energy. I was drained, and spent a majority of the time following my attack in hibernation."  
  
"Hibernation?" Shura raised one eyebrow.  
  
"Sleeping," Mayaka clarified.  
  
"At any rate, I had already conditioned myself to the pain of calling upon the powers of the Darkness Flame. Taking it into my body proved an even greater test. But Chitsuko... She was not ready. The Flame cannot settle inside of her, she won't let it. Instead she is trying to fight it, trying to push it out of her body. Once she accepts the pain, it will seep into her own well of power and alleviate itself."  
  
"Well...what happens if she doesn't?" Mayaka removed the cloth from her friend's forehead and set it down on the bedside table.  
  
Hiei looked over the sleeping girl's form, and his gaze softened. "I don't think I need to tell you what will happen..."  
  
The Jaganshi cast an emotionless glance in the human girl's direction. She looked away, sniffling softly.  
  
"Surely there's something we can do?" Shura asked hopefully, his soft red eyes wide with anxiety.  
  
"There is..."  
  
Suddenly the one on the bed twitched and moaned softly. All eyes were turned to her as she began to emmit small whimpering noises. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and gritted her teeth. Then without warning Chitsuko's body tensed completely beneath the blankets, relaxed again, then began to convulse.  
  
At once everyone was on their feet in alarm. Mayaka pressed a hand to her friend's head. "Chitsuko-chan, we're here, it's okay..." Unbridled tears leaked from her tired eyes.  
  
But Chitsuko didn't seem to hear her. She began to thrash violently, kicking off the blankets in the processes and nearly rolling off the bed. Behind her eyelids swam a maelstrom of throbbing pain. Her insides burned, her heart felt frozen. Red and black explosions danced across her closed vision, making her head ache and her body yearn to get up and run, try and run from the pain, not let it any closer...  
  
A scream erupted from her throat causing Mayaka and Shura to jump back, startled. Chitsuko screamed again, but this time the cry was feable and distant, greatly decreased in volume. In her unconcious state, the girl felt herself slipping away as the fiery power within her dragged her down, pulling her away from her body. She began to lose touch with her limbs, and as she reached out she felt her spirit energy falling with her...  
  
Just as suddenly as it had begun, Chitsuko's body stopping heaving. She lay still on the blanketless bed, her motionless arms thrown above her head, her body drenched in sweat. Hiei got on his knees on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead.  
  
It was stone cold.  
  
"No..." he murmured.  
  
Quickly Shura grabbed her wrist, his fingers prodding desperately for a pulse.   
  
He felt nothing.  
  
Shaking his head in denial, he pressed his knuckles against her pale cheek.   
  
"She's not breathing..." The words were barely a whisper from his mouth. He said it again, this time louder, more alarmed. "She's... she's not breathing!"  
  
"NO!" Mayaka screamed, throwing herself at her comatose friend's side. "Chitsuko-chan! NO! You can't leave me! You CAN'T!" By now she was sobbing hysterically. "You said... you said that... when the revolt was over... we could go... we could go home together... You promised, Chitsuko-chan... YOU PROMISED!"  
  
"Hiei, you know what's wrong with her!" Shura yelled at the Jaganshi. "DO SOMETHING!"  
  
Hiei turned his ruby gaze to the girl lying lifeless on the bed. Crawling closer to her he mumbled, "I'll try..."  
  
Bowing his head, he placed one hand on her chest directly over her heart. With his other hand he pressed two fingers to Chitsuko's sweat-soaked forehead. Then he closed his eyes and began his long, hard journey into the depths of Chitsuko's spirit...  
  
After a long moment of silence, Mayaka inquired softly, "Hiei?"  
  
The Jaganshi did not respond.  
  
Shura reached out and poked the youkai's arm. He remained unresponsive. "What's he doing?"  
  
"I was just about to ask you the same question..."  
  
Two pairs of eyes, one of amber honey and the other of lake red, fixed themselves on the motionless figures of the Jaganshi and the kitsune, their hearts beating fast with anxiety, hope, and fear...  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chitsuko felt herself falling through darkness. The only light radiated from the purple and black flames that swirled around her. Desperately she tried to wave them off, but the more she struggled the more they burned her.  
  
"Chitsuko, stop fighting it, let it go..."  
  
The voice sounded like Hiei's, but the Jaganshi was nowhere in sight. Then it struck her: she was inside of her subconcious, fighting off the pain that now consumed her. At this point her body would be in a sort of coma, unable to do anything until her soul returned from the depths of her subconcious. In reality she was trapped inside herself, with the only way out being the expulsion of the pain from her body...  
  
"Chitsuko..."  
  
The girl turned. Floating beside her was Hiei, his ruby red eyes shimmering in the light from the flames, his Jagan glowing steadily. Before she could say anything he reached out, grabbing hold of the snaking flames and yanking them away from the girl. To Chitsuko's amazement, they yielded to his touch, allowing her burned body a few moments of much-needed relief. Then he let them go again, and then wound themselves around her much more.  
  
"Hiei, what are you..."  
  
"You need to relax," he said, cutting her off abruptly. "Stop fighting it, let it go."  
  
"But it hurts..."  
  
"I know it hurts. It will hurt until you shut up and listen to me."  
  
Chitsuko opened her mouth to spit out a nasty retort, but the little fire demon slapped a hand forcefully over her mouth.  
  
"Don't fight it," he continued. "Let it run its course. Once it settles you must absorb it into your own store of energy. You hear me? Don't fight it. If you do, you will die."  
  
"Mmph..." she said from beneath his hand.  
  
"I'm going to help you. On the count of three, completely relax your spirit and let the flames seep into you." He shook his head ruefully. "I can't tell you to do the same with your body; you've already exhausted it and now it lies in a coma back in my room."  
  
Chitsuko groaned.  
  
"On the count of three..." The Jaganshi removed his hand from her mouth. "One... two... THREE!"  
  
It all happened at once. Chitsuko let herself relax and the pain suddenly escalated to an unbearable level. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out and let the flames sink into her own well of power. She felt them mix together, the purple flames dissolving in her own golden spirit energy. At the same time she felt some of the flames leave her body, their energy throbbing in the air around her before retreating into Hiei across from her. The Jaganshi's eyes were tightly shut and it seemed to be taking much effort for him to remove the effects of attacking the Dragon from the girl's damaged soul.  
  
And then the pain was gone, and Chitsuko felt herself shooting rapidly upwards. A streak of purple shot past her; Hiei leaving her subconcious. Suddenly she rocketed into an area of dazzling white light, and two frantic voices were calling her name...  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Chit-chaaaan!"  
  
"Chitsuko! Are you alright?"  
  
The kitsune opened her eyes to the dim light of Hiei's room. Mayaka and Shura stood beside the bed, the girl whimpering while the young master hugged her comfortingly. Her stormy blue-gray eyes began to slowly focus, and when her vision cleared her gaze was centered on a slim white candle that burned steadily on the bedside table.  
  
"Chit-chan!" Mayaka repeated her cry, wriggling out of Shura's arms to kneel beside the bed. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I... Yes..." the hanyou murmured, shifting so she could stretch out her arms and legs.  
  
Something was restraining her upper body. Sluggishly, feeling as though her energy was drained, she turned to look up at the one who held her.  
  
Hiei, his eyes closed and his Jagan once again without its glow, held her firmly in his arms with his head bowed over towards her. Chitsuko pressed one hand weakly to his chest and confirmed her suspicion; he was asleep, breathing quietly.  
  
Mayaka wasted no time in resuming her cries. "Oh Chitsuko-chan, I thought we had lost you for sure..."  
  
"Shhhh..." Chitsuko said softly. "He's... sleeping..." Her own eyelids felt heavy, and soon she was joining him in sleep. The price of dealing with the Darkness Flame had left her listless, her energy badly in need of being replenished.  
  
"Will they be alright?" Mayaka asked, turning to Shura.  
  
The young master had a small smile on his face. "I think so."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Eight and a half hours later, in the middle of night, Chitsuko awoke to hushed voices. Groggily she yawned and pushed herself up into a sitting position, propping herself up on her elbows. Over in the corner of the room, by the fire, she could make out the shapes of Yomi's generals and Shura. Past them sat Mayaka and Hiei, and nearby stood Mukuro, the firelight throwing shadows over her worried face.  
  
"Are you positive that this information is the truth?" Hokushin was asking. "He may be spreading a rumor in an attempt to lure the girl into a trap, or possibly throw her off his trail."  
  
Mukuro was shaking her head. "The information came from one of my own soldiers, one of my talented spies. And the Shinobi are not dishonorable, even this pack of human-hunting scum. They would never do such a thing as to throw off or capture an enemy with lies."  
  
"But if what your saying is true," Hiei said, "then thousands of apparitions and Makai's most delicate demons are in danger." The Jaganshi stood up and began pacing in front of the fire. "They have no way to defend themselves. Most of them are weak and untrained in the use of their spirit energy as a weapon. Their island lacks the resources needed to defend itself from attack. They are completely vulnerable."  
  
"Especially against fire," Mukuro added. "If they use fire, then the entire island and all of its inhabitants will be destroyed."  
  
Chitsuko swung her legs over the side of the bed and began her shaky walk towards the group.  
  
"Genocide..." Mayaka whispered, shaking her head. "Would Yokozuki really resort to this?"  
  
"To get what he wants, yes." The woman youkai folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the granite beside the fireplace. "Remember, the bounty on Chitsuko's head is high, and he has promised to reward her captor with hiruiseki. There is no other place in all the realms where hiruiseki can be found..."  
  
"Hiruiseki?" Chitsuko inquired in a soft voice.  
  
The seven of them turned to look at her. At once they were smiling.  
  
"Good. You're up." Hiei crossed over to her, inspecting her carefully with his gaze. When he was satisfied, he nodded, then lead her over to a soft chair beside Mayaka. She sat down, watching as Hiei took up his place before the roaring fire once more.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"As you know, Chitsuko, Yokozuki has placed a high bounty on your head," Mukuro said softly.  
  
"Yes, I know that..." the girl replied.  
  
"He has offered a countless sum of hiruiseki for your capture."  
  
"Hiruiseki... I've heard the term before. What are hiruiseki?"  
  
"Hiruiseki," Hiei chimed in, "are the flawless gems produced by ice apparitions known as Koorime."  
  
"They make them?"  
  
"Sort of..." the Jaganshi answered. "The gems come from their tears. In order to obtain the hiruiseki, one must make the Koorime cry."  
  
Chitsuko's face scrunched up in disgust. "That's awful..."  
  
"And that's exactly what Yokozuki plans to do." Mukuro took up the explaination once more. "Yokozuki plans to take his band on human hunters to the apparitions home, the island of Koorime, mercilessly torture them to obtain their teargems, then destroy the entire island and slaughter all the Koorime."  
  
The kitsune's eyes were wide. "That bastard... He's relentless, I tell you! RELENTLESS!" She sprang to her feet, only to fall back into her chair, her head swimming with dizziness. "We... have to do something..."  
  
"But what? You're far too weak now to hunt down Yokozuki and get him before he reaches Koorime," Shura said. "It would be suicide."  
  
"I'll go with her!" Mayaka said quickly, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand. "I'll watch out for her."  
  
Mukuro shook her head. "It would still be unwise of you to go to him..."  
  
"Then we'll let him come to us..." Chitsuko murmured.  
  
Everyone turned to look at her. There was a bright glint in her eyes which meant that she was thinking, and thinking hard.  
  
"What do you mean? Shura asked.  
  
"I said we let him come to us. We go to Koorime and defend the island, maybe rally up the Koorime to fight or get them to evacuate before Yokozuki arrives. And when he does, we can get rid of him, all in one shot." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that!"  
  
Mukuro smiled. "You are going to Koorime then?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded.  
  
"And me," Mayaka said.  
  
"And me." Shura kneeled on the floor in front of the girls' chairs, laying a hand on both of theirs.  
  
Mukuro turned her gaze to the Jaganshi. "What about you Hiei?"  
  
To everyone's shock, the youkai shook his head. "I have work to do here."  
  
"But we need you, Hiei!" Mayaka protested.  
  
"No you don't. Chitsuko's powerful enough. You've got her."  
  
"It's settled then." Chitsuko looked up at Mukuro, her blue-gray eyes bright with rekindled hope and the desire for Yokozuki's destruction.  
  
"The news is a few days old, so I suggest you leave right away." Mukuro thought about it for a moment, then added, "Tomorrow. In the darkness before dawn." 


	14. Chapter 13 Koorime

Guess who's typing this on her brand-spanking new LAPTOP!!!!! ;D  
  
This chapter is dedicated to, along with VERY LARGE special thanks, to Kia- chan a.k.a. Kaeru Soyokaze for letting me use Kaeru. (For those of who don't know who Kaeru is, go read her story "Hiruiseki.") I wouldn't be this far without her! ::huggles:: Arigatou Kia-chan, ai shiteru! =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 13: Koorime  
  
Chitsuko, Mayaka, and Shura left Mukuro's castle just as the last stars faded from the dark sky. They took one of the insect-like vehicles normally used by the soldiers on patrol for humans; agility and speed were the two things they needed most at that moment. Equipped with a map given to them by Mukuro, an old rowboat, a bundle of warmer clothes, and enough food to last for one week, they set out for the Koorime, the island of ice apparitions.  
  
They left prepared for battle. Shura had discarded his regal attire for a more fight-worthy outfit: sleek pants and a trim shirt of black leather with a white vest and wrist gauntlets made of metal. Mayaka wore the same black pleated skirt she had been found in, along with a short- sleeved orange turtleneck with two brown leather straps criss-crossing her chest. Chitsuko's clothes had been burned shortly after she had fallen ill, just in case her sickness was due to outside forces rather than the absorption of the Darkness Flame. She now had on a pair of baggy white pants and what barely constituted as a top. It was nothing more than a long strip of silken white fabric wound around her chest and over her shoulders many times, then tied at her back with the two loose ends trailing down. The kitsune made known her discomfort by constantly shifting the fabric; if she wasn't busting out on one side, she was busting out on the other. The only person who didn't seem to have anything against her skimpy attire was Shura.  
  
The three companions traveled for three eventless days. Fields and forests passed them by, the moon and sun wheeled overhead, the stars rekindled and then faded again. Shura remained the designated driver while the two girls slept in the backseat. Every once and a while one or both of them would wake up to make sure the young master was going the right way. The map spread out on the front seat was a big help to them, and Chitsuko made a mental note to thank Mukuro extensively once they returned.  
  
Then, on the morning of the fourth day, the cold came.  
  
It came in the form of a chill, wavering on the wind that whirled around the vehicle. Then soft white flakes of snow began to fall, piling up on the ground around them to form an endless blanket of white that stretched in all directions. And finally the biting cold set in, and the three of them knew they were almost there.  
  
Chitsuko retrieved the warm woolen coats she had brought for both her and her friends, knowing that cold weather lay ahead of them. Mayaka gratefully accepted, but Shura refused, saying he was alright. But even after donning the coats, the cold continued to nip at them mercilessly.  
  
At last the landscape gave way to a frozen beach. Beyond the chilly waters, a hundred miles or so from the shore, lay the island of Koorime. From where they were, they could see peaks of glinting ice jutting up into the sky. Snow lay thickly on the ground and gray clouds of winter hung about the isle. A few miles down the beach, a part of the island stuck out in a rocky precipice that hung over the shore.  
  
The wooden rowboat was brought out to the water, along with a few provisions of food. Their vehicle was hidden in a dense cluster of trees not too far from the snowy beach. The girls climbed into the boat and Shura pushed it out to sea, jumping in before the icy water became too deep.  
  
He was shivering when he sat down. Chitsuko unwrapped the provisions, taking the blanket they were wrapped in and draping it around Shura's shoulders.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked.  
  
Shura nodded. "Th...the water...'s just... very.... very... coooold..."  
  
Mayaka rolled her eyes. "No duh." She turned to Chitsuko as Shura began rowing steadily out towards the island. "So what kind of demons live on this island? Mukuro must've told you something."  
  
"Actually, it was Hiei who gave me the information I needed," the hanyou said. "Koorime are ice apparitions, and you already know their teargems are priceless and in high demand. But there is one slightly odd thing about Koorime... They're... err... all female..."  
  
"An island of beautiful women?" Shura was grinning.  
  
The kitsune shot him a sharp glance that immediately wiped the smirk off his face. "They are unaccustomed to men, so I suggest you lay low while we're there, don't make any sudden moves or anything..."  
  
"Well, how to they reproduce then?" the young master asked with genuine sincerity.  
  
Chitsuko shook her head. "I couldn't answer that question even if I wanted to..."  
  
The three companions fell into silence, apprehension lying thick in the air. Three pairs of eyes, one honey-colored, one soft red, one of stormy blue-gray, turned towards the island and what await them there.  
  
Then the hanyou's lips parted and a soft melody flowed between them.  
  
"Sorrow behind, danger ahead,  
  
I walk a path of untold dread.  
  
But as long as those I love are in jeopardy,  
  
This is the path that's meant for me."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Kaeru-chan. Kaeru-chan!"  
  
"Coming Ruri-san!" The young Koorime quickly gathered her soft mass of sea- green hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a red ribbon. Tugging down the sleeves of her mint blue kimono, she scampered from her room and down the hallway, glancing briefly at her reflection in the corridor's icy walls. Quickly she slid open the front door and darted into the cold world outside just as her caretaker called her name again.  
  
"Kaeru-chan!"  
  
"I'm here, Ruri-san, I'm here."  
  
Kaeru found her caretaker kneeling by the small stream that ran before the house, a large wooden bucket in her hands. She smiled when she saw the young girl coming.  
  
"Kaeru-chan, could you help me bring this inside?" she asked as she lowered the bucket into the stream far enough for a good amount of water to flood into it. "I'm not as limber or strong as I used to be."  
  
"Of course, Ruri-san." The girl took the bucket as Ruri offered it to her, wrapping her arms tightly around the barrel as she carefully made her way back towards the house. Something small and cold tickled her nose, and she raised her eyes to a fresh flurry of snow.  
  
She sighed lightly. Life was good and peaceful. Although she missed her mother greatly, she always found herself in a state of serene comfort, blissfully unaware of the world outside of the little island of Koorime. To Kaeru, nothing else mattered than to be surrounded by the people she loved, every one of them safe and sound.  
  
Suddenly a cry rang out amidst the silence of the falling snow. "There's a boat out on the water. Someone's approaching the island!"  
  
Several shouts were heard near the shore. Behind the young Koorime Ruri gave a cry of surprise, causing her to drop the bucket she carried. Water splashed everywhere, wetting the hem of the ice apparition's kimono and drenching her sandal-clad feet. Ruri ran off in the direction of the shore, following several other Koorime that had fled their homes in curiosity as well. Kaeru, not wanting to be left behind, quickly sped after her caretaker.  
  
Kaeru didn't live far from the east shore of the island. The south shore consisted of a steep cliff dropping over the mainland, and very few inhabitants of the island chose to erect their houses there. Sticking close to Ruri, she pushed her way through the throng of excited apparitions, most of them calling out to one another from across the crowd.  
  
"Can you see them? What do they look like?"  
  
"There's three of them! The taller one is rowing that rickety-little boat."  
  
"That would explain how they got so close without being spotted."  
  
Kaeru desperately tried to balance herself on the tips of her toes, anxious for a glimpse of the approaching visitors. But her short stature put her at a major disadvantage; all she could see was a swarm of torsos, jostling each other for a clear view of the shore. Feeling just as curious as the rest of them, she tugged on her caretaker's sleeve.  
  
"Ruri-san. Can you see them?"  
  
The old Koorime craned her neck, her head moving from side to side as the crowd shifted around her. "I can just see them. They've brought their boat onto the shore. There's one boy, with jet black hair, very tall. And a girl. Her hair is the same color as the boy's and down to her elbows. And. another girl." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened slightly as the other Koorime around them stopped moving and fell silent.  
  
"Ruri-san?" Kaeru whispered.  
  
"There is. another girl." Ruri sounded awestruck, almost afraid. "Her hair is long and golden like the sun when the sky is clear. Her eyes are bright. The color of the sky after a storm. She walks ahead of the others with confidence." Ruri settled back on her heels, seemingly no longer anxious to see the three visitors. "She has a purpose here."  
  
"A purpose?" The young Koorime brushed her thick bangs out of her eyes and turned to face the obstructed shore.  
  
At that moment the crowd of Koorime parted, clearing a path on the icy ground. A nervous silence fell over them as the three strangers entered their midst.  
  
Quietly Kaeru maneuvered her way to the edge of the crowd, just as the strange new people passed. Just as Ruri had said, the two black-haired ones walked side-by-side behind the girl with the golden hair. Her head turned from side to side, her blue-gray eyes taking in everything around her. Kaeru held her breath; there was something in those bright eyes that hinted at nature of the girl's spirit, a dangerous power, a wild soul.  
  
The little Koorime let out a soft gasp, and the girl's eyes settled on her.  
  
She stopped walking. Kaeru held her breath.  
  
Slowly she walked forward. By now all the Koorime were watching her, unsure whether to fear her or welcome her. A cold sweat broke out on Kaeru's forehead and she took a retreating step backward behind the Koorime next to her.  
  
The girl noticed her alarm and stopped, a look of dismayed shock on her face. "Please, don't be afraid." She extended her hand and smiled warmly. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I won't hurt you."  
  
For a moment Kaeru stood motionless, feeing something between dumbfoundedness and awe. But there was something about the girl's smile and the gentle tone in her voice that eased the Koorime's fear. Hesitantly she stepped forward again, then reached out and slipped her fingers into the girl's hand.  
  
The golden-haired girl smiled. "What's your name?"  
  
By now the silence over the throng of Koorime was deafening. "K-Kaeru." she answered softly.  
  
That smiled remained in place. "I'm Chitsuko Ichihara. Nice to meet you Kaeru-san."  
  
The young Koorime giggled softly, then broke out into a smile of her own.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So that is why you are here."  
  
Kaeru kneeled down next to Ruri and set the tray of cups down on the table. Carefully she placed a shiny white cup before each of their three guests and her caretaker. The girl named Chitsuko immediately picked up her cup and took a long sip of the warm tea, while her two companions, named Shura and Mayaka, were took up their cups tentatively.  
  
"Yes," Chitsuko responded when she was done drinking, her stormy eyes focusing on the old Koorime. "I am relieved you've at least heard knew of the rogue Shinobi tribe. That means I can cut the long-winded explanation and talk about what's really important: defending this island."  
  
Kaeru studied Chitsuko as she spoke. Indeed she did seem confident of herself, and she held an aura of wisdom and toughness about her. Taking her own cup into her hands, she took a tiny sip, still studying the girl over its rim.  
  
"There is no one in Makai who had not heard of Yokozuki. Rumors say he hunts the reborn half-demon known as Hanyou Kohana. Until now we did not know that the hanyou of legend had been reborn."  
  
"I see." Chitsuko squirmed uncomfortably and hide her face in her teacup.  
  
At once Kaeru noticed her discomfort at Ruri's mention of Hanyou Kohana. She had heard stories of the infamous hanyou, but thought them to be only stories. Fables of Youko Kurama and his band of thieves had been favorite bedtime stories of hers when she had been a little girl. But now that legend and myth had been proved to be reality, she had taught herself to keep her mind open and her wits sharp.  
  
"Do you know anything about Hanyou Kohana?" Ruri asked the girl. "Surely during your work under Mukuro you have at least learned of her whereabouts."  
  
When the girl shrugged slightly, Kaeru immediately picked up what was going on. You know where Hanyou Kohana is too, Ruri.she thought in her caretaker's direction. You are looking right at her.  
  
The older Koorime sighed. "Anyway, what really matters is the defense of this island." She took a dainty swallow of her own tea. "How are you going to go about doing that?"  
  
While Chitsuko remained in her state of discomfort, the boy, Shura, spoke for her. "We hope to spot the human hunters before they get anywhere near the island and head them off from there. If we're lucky, we can force them back onto the shore and completely slaughter them."  
  
"'Slaughter'?" Kaeru made her alarm obvious with her sudden outburst. The other four turned to look at her.  
  
"Don't worry, Kaeru-chan. We'll let the good ones go." She smiled slightly, "Besides, it's all for your protection."  
  
Kaeru nodded hesitantly. "I.understand." In reality she really didn't.  
  
"Will you be staying with us?" Ruri inquired of her guests.  
  
"If that's alright with you." the girl names Mayaka said, bowing her head in respect. "We don't know anyone on the island, afterall."  
  
Ruri smiled at her. "Make yourself at home while you're here."  
  
"Thank you, Ruri-san." Chitsuko nodded thankfully.  
  
Ruri nodded in return. "Kaeru-chan, would you show our guests to their rooms?"  
  
"Y-Yes." Quickly the young Koorime stood up, motioning for their guests to follow. The three of them followed her as she made her way down the hallway to the cluster of vacant rooms at the back of the house.  
  
"Shura-san, you sleep in here." Kaeru slid the bedroom door open then quickly backed away to allow Shura to pass. The young master paused in the doorway to look oddly at the nervous expression the girl wore.  
  
"What's wrong, little one? Never seen a real man before?" Shura's over- confidence made him seem macho to the young Koorime. He slung his arm over her shoulder and laughed lightly. "C'mon, I don't bite. Hard."  
  
Kaeru let out a little squeak and in an instant Shura was a solid block of ice.  
  
Wide-eyed, Mayaka and Chitsuko tapped the glassy surface. "Will you teach ME to do that?" the raven-haired girl asked, turning to the little Koorime.  
  
"Uhhh." Kaeru blinked rapidly several times, unsure how to answer.  
  
Chitsuko elbowed Mayaka in the side. "Why don't you go check out your room, Mayaka," she said quickly, saving Kaeru from the awkwardness of the moment.  
  
"R-right. You will sleep in here, Mayaka-san." Kaeru pushed open the door next to the frozen Shura's room. The human nodded and went inside, flopping down on the bed immediately.  
  
Chitsuko and Kaeru were left in the hallway alone. Silently the little Koorime lead her guest down the hallway. Her heartbeat reached her ears as she listened to the footsteps on the one behind her, soft but resounding nonetheless in the empty hallway, reverberating off the icy walls and back to her. Again small beads of sweat collected at her temples. Just the thought of being alone with one of the powerful demons that legends are made of frightened her. It took all of her willpower to keep from freezing the girl behind her. And although Chitsuko Ichihara showed no outward sign of being as formidable as her reputation, the light that burned in the depths of her eyes was enough to alert the little Koorime of the wild spirit within.  
  
At last they reached the end of the hallway. Kaeru opened the door and stood back, allowing Chitsuko to walk in past her. The golden-haired girl nodded in thanks and stopped when she was in the center of the room. Turning, she smiled at the little Koorime. "Thank you, Kaeru-chan."  
  
Kaeru nodded. She couldn't stand it. How could someone who was known for being so vicious be so kind? She remained in the doorway, motionless, her eyes fixed on Chitsuko as she made her way about the room, running her hands over the dresser and the soft blankets over the futon. Kaeru swallowed hard and opened her mouth to say something, but only a soft squeak came out.  
  
Chitsuko whirled around to look at her, startled by the noise. Kaeru was still standing near the door, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide. The hanyou recognized emotion in those eyes, a feeling that she had become very familiar with over the past few years: fear.  
  
"Kaeru-chan? Are you alright?" She took a step forward, reaching one hand out to the Koorime.  
  
The young one let out a little whimper and took a step back, the look of anxiety on her face intensifying.  
  
Dismay flooded Chitsuko's heart. Oh no. she thought sadly. She knows who I am.  
  
The kitsune sighed. "Please don't be afraid of me, Kaeru-chan. I won't hurt you, honestly I won't. I'm not as cutthroat everyday as I am in battle." She smiled weakly.  
  
"But. the stories."  
  
"Screw the stories," Chitsuko said quickly, annoyed. "The stories are all one-sided. They tell of my skills in battle and my power, that's it. I have a human side too, you know. One filled with compassion. And love. I have friends who can verify that. and they all love me too." She hugged herself, nostalgia of those wonderful days in Ningenkai drifting back to her mind. Turning away from Kaeru, she murmured, "I wish people wouldn't be so afraid of me."  
  
Kaeru, being the sympathetic soul she was, took a step forward. "I'm sorry, Chitsuko-san. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."  
  
To her surprise, a smile crossed the girl's face once more. "Don't worry about it Kaeru-chan. It's not your fault."  
  
Relieved, Kaeru nodded, a smile of her own lighting up her features. "Sleep well, Chitsuko-san. You'll need your strength if you're going to fight those human hunters."  
  
"You too."  
  
Then Kaeru left the room, gently shutting the door behind her. As she made her way back to the kitchen and Ruri, she decided to keep her secret to herself. If everyone on the island knew that the infamous Hanyou Kohana was boarding with them, it would cause unnecessary trouble, more than the poor kitsune needed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A soft breeze tickled Chitsuko's cheeks. Her eyes fluttered open to view a forest, lush and green. She stood in the cool shade below a thick canopy, slats of sunlight shining through breaks in the roof of leaves. She recognized the forest; it was the woods that surrounded the home of Suzuki the inventor, along with the other youkai friends she had made since coming to Makai. Only one thing about the whole scene struck her as odd: the air was warm and the sun shone as though it were mid-summer, not early fall as it should be.  
  
She sighed forlornly. "Another dream."  
  
"I apologize if I got your hopes up." A tall someone wrapped their arms around her from behind and she felt a pair of lips press themselves to the crown of her head.  
  
Chitsuko smiled and turned around, sliding her arms around her sudden companion in a hug. "What kept you away so long, Karasu?"  
  
The crow smiled, amethyst eyes twinkling above his mask. "I got hung up in Reikai." He took a step back, holding the girl by the shoulders at arm's length. "We've got to stop meeting like this."  
  
The kitsune giggled. "Got any more information for me?"  
  
"Why else would I steal away precious sleep to haunt your dreams?"  
  
The girl frowned teasingly. "And I thought you came just because you missed me."  
  
"Oh, but I do." Another kiss was pressed to her forehead. "You've done more for me than anyone else ever has. How can I not miss you?"  
  
Chitsuko smiled, a light pink blush spreading across her cheeks. "Karasu."  
  
"At any rate," he said, "this new bit of information gave me an excuse to visit you. Well. it's actually more of a warning than an update."  
  
"A warning?"  
  
The black-haired youkai nodded. "I see you have already learned of Yokozuki's plan to sack Koorime for hiruiseki and have safely made your way to the island. You also know of the bounty on your head, I presume?"  
  
The girl nodded. "I heard that the hiruiseki are supposed to serve the purpose of the reward."  
  
"That is right. From Reikai we have been able to track his movements, but now he and his tribe have mysteriously disappeared from our view. He has used the psychic powers he possesses along with the combined spirit energy of his followers to create a sort of invisible barrier around them as they travel, preventing Reikai officials from tracking him any longer. But the last known coordinates show him to be close to the eastern shores of Makai. In short, he is about a day away from Koorime."  
  
Chitsuko sighed. "My work is never finished. I've never had an enemy as enigmatic as Yokozuki. All I know is that he knew Zoutarou and worked alongside him." She turned to look at Karasu. "Do you think. he knew my father?"  
  
"Maybe." Karasu answered softly. "Use what information you do have to the fullest. I don't doubt you'll find out the whole truth soon." He brushed a few strands of golden-brown hair out of her bright eyes and sighed. "You'll find a way through this."  
  
"Yeah." she breathed. "I hope so."  
  
"Get some sleep. You need to keep your energy up." Affectionately he kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her in a strong hug. "We're all counting on you, Kokitsune."  
  
"I know." Chitsuko answered softly as her dream world began to fade to black. "I know." 


	15. Chapter 14 A New Ally

My own laptop = don't have to go downstairs to work on the computer = more writing!  
  
::huggles laptop:: ^^  
  
DICLAIMER: I do not own Kaeru or her story. Our little Koorime's entire history and relation with a certain Saint Beast belong entirely to Kaeru Soyokaze. As I have said before, go read her "Hiruiseki" if you are confused.  
  
Once again, this chapter is dedicated to Kia-chan. =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
Chapter 14: A New Ally  
  
The next morning Mayaka and and Shura were the first to wake. Ruri made breakfast while Kaeru made up their guests' beds. As she excited Shura's room, which she had been reluctant to enter in the first place, she paused, turning to stare down the hallway at Chitsuko's closed door.  
  
The sun was steadily rising and now hung high in the eastern sky, and still the hanyou slept on. Ruri had suggested waking her, but Mayaka and Shura had spoken out against it, saying that the girl needed to keep her energy at its peak for the upcoming battle. Kaeru had thought about waking Chitsuko up anyway, or at least checking on her to make sure she was alright.  
  
Finally the young Koorime made a decision. With a sigh she resumed her walk to the kitchen, glancing briefly down the hallway once more before finally re-entering the kitchen.  
  
"Is Chitsuko awake yet?" Mayaka asked, turning to look at Kaeru as she entered.  
  
The girl shook her head. "Not yet. Chitsuko-san is still sleeping."  
  
"Did you check?" Shura asked tentatively. The freezing incident of the day before was still fresh in his mind.  
  
"Well. no. But her door is still closed."  
  
The young master sighed and stood up. "I'll go check on her then."  
  
"But you musn't wake her!" Ruri said quickly. "She needs all the rest she can to hold up her strength."  
  
Shura paused for a moment as he considered this, then shrugged. "She needs to wake up and eat something. She can't fight on an empty stomach."  
  
"I'll get her then." Before Shura could object the little Koorime had darted out of the kitchen and down the hallway to Chitsuko's room.  
  
She knocked softly then said, "Chitsuko-san? Are you awake?"  
  
The door slid open suddenly, startling her half to death. On the other side of the doorframe stood Chitsuko, awake and fully dressed.  
  
"Oh, good. You're awake." Kaeru smiled slightly. "Ruri-san made breakfast, you should eat something."  
  
Chitsuko returned the smile. "Thank you Kaeru-chan." She closed the door behind her, and then asked, "Is Ruri-san your mother?"  
  
Slightly flustered by the sudden question, the little Koorime shook her head. "N-no. My mother died a long time ago. Ruri-san was the caretaker of my best friend. Ever since my mother's death she has taken care of me."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry, Kaeru-chan." Chitsuko said softly. "I didn't know."  
  
"No, it's alright." The young one smiled sadly. I was almost relieving, to be able to tell her sad story to someone else, to gain their sympathy.  
  
"How did your mother die?"  
  
"She. She was killed along time ago by a Koorime hunted named." she swallowed hard before saying the name, "Zenkai. I was in danger as well, so I was sent to live in a faraway city on the outskirts of Makai, in a place known as Maze Castle. Four of the most powerful demons in Makai lived there, and their leader took care of me. When the commotion out here on Koorime died down and Zenkai was jailed, he brought me home, and I haven't seen him since." Kaeru sighed. "A few years ago word reached us that the Saint Beasts, those four demons, were killed. I had grown close to their leader, a demon named Suzaku." Her voice trailed off and finally died as she whispered his name.  
  
Chitsuko put a comforting arm around Kaeru's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Kaeru-chan."  
  
"It's alright," she repeated again. "It's alright."  
  
The two started back to the kitchen together. "Are you sure Suzaku is dead?" Chitsuko asked, glancing sideways at the little Koorime.  
  
"The rumors say he is. One of Reikai's Spirit Detectives killed him. I think his name was something like. Urameshi."  
  
The hanyou's eyes widened. "Yusuke Urameshi?"  
  
Kaeru stopped walking and turned to face Chitsuko. "Yes! That was the name. Yusuke Urameshi. You've heard of him too?"  
  
".Yes," the kitsune replied nervously. "I've. heard of him."  
  
"You used to live in Ningenkai. Have you met him?"  
  
Unsure of Kaeru's feelings towards the Tantei that had killed her beloved protector, the girl shook her head. "Nope, never met him."  
  
"Oh."  
  
The two made their way back to the kitchen in silence.  
  
* * * * *  
The day passed uneventfully. Shura and Mayaka took turns watching the waters and opposite shores for any sign of Yokozuki and his band of human hunters. Chitsuko made her way about the island, talking with the local inhabitants and letting them know that she meant to protect them, not harm them. The kitsune and Kaeru spent a good portion of the day together, the latter showing the former around the island. By nightfall, Yokozuki still had not shown himself, but Chitsuko took up watch on the shores as a precaution.  
  
Shura, Mayaka, and Kaeru had offered to stay with her. The hanyou accepted the offer gratefully; their company would make the night less lonely. They bundled up warmly, all with the exception of Kaeru who was perfectly fine in her kimono, and settled themselves on the snowy beach next to the cold waters of the Makai ocean.  
  
A gentle wind swirled around them, lulling them into a state of serenity. Chitsuko closed her eyes, reminded of the days she had spent in Makai with her friends. They would be in the park. Yusuke and Kuwabara would be playing some rough game like wrestling while Hiei watched them disdainfully from a tree branch. Botan, Keiko, and Shizuru would be sitting on a bench or on the grass, chatting idly. Kuwabara's sister would undoubtly be smoking a cigarette, tossing a comment at the fighting boys every now and then. She herself would be flitting amongst them, every now and then stopping to chat with Hiei or the girls before running back to join the boys in their fight. And when she grew tired, she would retreat to Kurama, who would be waiting for her under the shadiest tree in the park with a warm smile and open arms.  
  
"Chitsuko-san?"  
  
The kitsune's eyes snapped open and she whipped her head around to look Kaeru in the face. The little Koorime looked worried. "Is something wrong, Chitsuko-san?"  
  
"Hm?" The girl rubbed her eyes to clear away the tears that had snuck into the corners. "No, nothing's wrong. I just miss home. That's all."  
  
"Oh." Kaeru settled herself next to Chitsuko once more and gaze out over the water. Suddenly her eyes grew wide with alarm and she pointed out into the darkness. "What's that?!"  
  
The four of them stared out at the water. Through the flurry of snow a dark figure was floating through the water towards the island. A small light at the bow of what looked like a tiny rowboat glowed softly, throwing shadows over a pair of stout legs. The rest of the strange person's body was completely hidden by the darkness around them.  
  
At once they became alert. Mayaka braced herself, ready to create one of her spirit arrows at any moment. Shura created a sphere of soft red energy in his hands while Kaeru looked on in fearful amazement. Chitsuko reached back into her hair, her white rose manifesting itself into her hands and morphing into her Rose Whip. She gripped her weapon by its handle tightly as she watched the figure approach.  
  
At last the boat ran aground, and its passenger leapt nimbly onto the shore. The figure picked up the small light, which turned out to be a lantern, and held it aloft near its shoulders as it made its way up the beach. As it approached, the four companions could just make out a head of tousled golden hair with an orange hint, darker than Chitsuko's, with two pin-straight strands of red hanging in front all the way down to a firm chin. Two glistening eyes of light orchid fixed themselves on the group on the shore, just as the boy came to a bewildered halt.  
  
"No. It can't be." Kaeru breathed softly, her ruby-colored eyes widening and her mouth hanging slightly open.  
  
"Kaeru?" Mayaka looked from the little Koorime to the stranger on the shore. "You know him?"  
  
"Know him." Kaeru's eyes began to flood with tears and she ran forward through the snow. "Is it really you?" she called out. "Suzaku-san?"  
  
"'Suzaku-san'?" The kitsune took a few steps forward. "But. you said he was. Didn't Yusuke.?"  
  
Kaeru threw herself into the arms of the stranger, and her wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. "It's been a long time, Snowdrop." His voice was smooth and mirthful.  
  
The little Koorime grumbled. "Don't call me that."  
  
The boy laughed, taking Kaeru by the hand and leading her back up the beach towards the three that now waited in confusion. He stopped when he was just in front of them, his eyes running over their forms with obvious annoyance. "And who are these people? They look like a bunch of pathetic ningens."  
  
"HEY!" Mayaka shouted. She would have pounced on the boy if Shura had not held her back.  
  
Kaeru stepped in front of her friend. "Don't hurt him! He won't do you anything to you. Trust me, he's nice."  
  
"NICE?!" Shura shrieked. "You consider one of the supposedly-dead Saint Beasts to be NICE?!"  
  
The Koorime glared at him. The Saint Beast put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.  
  
"Aren't you going to introduce me?"  
  
Kaeru nodded quickly, then turned to her three guests. "This is Suzaku, the most powerful of the four now-disbanded Saint Beasts."  
  
* * * * *  
"But. but you're supposed to be DEAD!"  
  
Shura slammed his bowl down on the hard wood, startling everyone else at the table with his sudden outburst. Ruri, shaking her head, stood up and exited the kitchen, while Mayaka, Chitsuko, Kaeru, and Suzaku stared at him oddly.  
  
Suzaku swallowed his mouthful of rice and sighed. "Did you honestly think and amateur Spirit Detective could kill a Saint Beast?"  
  
Shura opened his mouth to answer, then groaned and took up his bowl once more, hiding his face in the mound of steamed rice.  
  
"That would be a yes," Mayaka said before popping a chunk of beef into her mouth.  
  
"What brings you back to Koorime, Suzaku-san?" Kaeru seemed much happier with the arrival of her long lost caretaker. She seemed less timid around her guests and even smiled more often.  
  
"Two things, actually," Suzaku began. "The first is to keep an eye on you, Kaeru, as always. The second is to help a new Reiki Tantei commissioned by Reikai to work here in Makai on the Yokozuki case. Her name is." he bit his lip as he tried thought about it, "Chitsuko Something-or- other, I believe."  
  
The kitsune placed her bowl on the table calmly and said, "Chitsuko Ichihara. That would be me."  
  
Light orchid hues met stormy blue-gray ones. The Saint Beast snorted.  
  
"You? You look positively juicy and defenseless."  
  
"That's not true, Suzaku-san!" Kaeru said quickly, eager to defend her new friend. "She's got more power than even you do, I bet! You shouldn't talk to the reincarnation of a powerful demon that way."  
  
Mayaka stared at Kaeru in shock. Suddenly realizing her mistake, the young Koorime slapped a hand over her mouth and let out a muffled, "Ooops."  
  
One golden eyebrow shot up. "A reincarnation of a powerful demon?" He glanced at Chitsuko. "And what powerful demon would that be?"  
  
The hanyou couldn't take it anymore. Everyone was going to find out anyway. "Hanyou Kohana. That's who."  
  
Suzaku's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me."  
  
Chitsuko scowled at him. "Do we have to take this outside, Tentacle Face?"  
  
His eyes narrowed. "Perhaps."  
  
"NO!" Kaeru cried, throwing her arms across the table between Chitsuko and Suzaku. "There will be no fighting among us, NONE OF IT."  
  
The Saint Beast sneered at the kitsune, then resumed eating. "As you wish, Kaeru."  
  
"You know," Chitsuko said through a mouthful of broccoli, "I don't need anymore help."  
  
"I don't doubt the abilities of Hanyou Kohana after all the stories I've heard," Suzaku said, looking seriously at the girl. "But if Reikai is sending people to help YOU, then this case must be pretty serious."  
  
"Oh yeah," Shura said. "That Yokozuki bastard just won't give up. Relentless, he is."  
  
Suddenly Chitsuko shivered violently and dropped her bowl. It smacked down on the table, falling on its side and spilling rice everywhere. A cold presence seeped into her mind and several points of power made themselves known to her. She recognize two, one that felt windy and one that was cold as ice.  
  
"Jin. Touya." she murmured. "I think he's here."  
  
"Who?" Mayaka asked quickly. "Yokozuki?"  
  
The front door of the house banged open and Ruri came running into the kitchen, panting heavily, a look of untold terror on her face.  
  
"There are a dozen boats leaving the opposite shore. Yokozuki and his Shinobi rebels are here!" 


	16. Chapter 15 The Heat of Battle

Oh damn. Here we go.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
Chapter 15: The Heat of Battle  
  
Chitsuko was down the hallway and in her room in an instant. Snatching up her sword, she darted back down the corridor and out of the house before anyone else had even left the kitchen.  
  
The cold feeling of the falling snow hit her like a slap to the face. Outside the residents of the island had already begun to flee their homes, screaming and shouting in panic and fear. The kitsune threw herself into the middle of them, her pounding heart nearly drowning out her voice as she called out them.  
  
"TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE ISLAND!" she shouted as they ran past her. "HURRY!"  
  
Heeding her words, they ran past her towards the opposite side of the island, away from the western shores and the invaders. Shura, Mayaka, Ruri, Suzaku and Kaeru burst out of the house behind her. The little Koorime was in tears, and the Saint Beast was doing all he could to comfort her.  
  
"One of you, go with the Koorime," she ordered. "Make sure they reach the other side of the island safely."  
  
"I'll go." Mayaka had already formed her bow of spirit energy in her hands. She nodded, then ran off into the crowd of Koorime. Her voice could be heard over them. "STICK WITH ME! TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND!"  
  
"I'll round up the stragglers," Shura said quickly, darting off in the opposite direction, his soft red eyes glinting with determination.  
  
That left Chitsuko, Ruri, Suzaku, and Kaeru. The hanyou looked at the frightened young girl and sighed. "Ruri, take her with the others."  
  
"Yes, Chitsuko-san." Taking the younger Koorime by the hand, Ruri hurried down the front steps and around the house towards the main road that ran through their small village.  
  
"But. but. Suzaku-san! Chitsuko-san!" Kaeru called out, turning to look back and tugging her caretaker to a halt. "What about you?!"  
  
"Us?" Chitsuko smiled at her. A sense of irony played about her features. "We stand and fight."  
  
The Koorime's wide ruby eyes filled with tears. "Chitsuko-san! Suzaku- san!"  
  
"Don't worry about us, Kaeru." Suzaku said softly, not loud enough for his ex-charge to hear.  
  
And without another word the two of them sped away towards the eastern shores to face the terror that had come.  
  
For a long moment Ruri and Kaeru stood still, watching the retreating forms of their two new allies. Then the older Koorime tugged on the young one's arm, and she reluctantly followed her caretaker in the opposite direction.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The atmosphere was electric with the panic and fear of the island's inhabitants. Chitsuko tightened her grip on her sword and gritted her teeth as she sped through the cold, Suzaku at her side. She shivered, once again cursing her flimsy attire. It hadn't been her choice to wear it, but it was all she could find that was small enough to fit her. As they neared a cluster of houses that served as a sort of barrier between the shore and the interior of the island, they took a sharp turn to the right and dashed along the row of houses.  
  
A young ice maiden who looked to be her early twenties was crouched in the middle of the icy road, tightly typing the bow of a small child's kimono. They both looked up just as Chitsuko and Suzaku ran past, two streaks of white and red.  
  
"Look Mommy!" the little girl squealed, pointing after them with one chubby finger. "It's our angel! She's going to save us!"  
  
The kitsune heard this and blushed furiously as they rounded another corner, making their way towards the exit of the maze of streets.  
  
"What, you didn't know?" Suzaku said with a grin when he saw the girl's bashful expression. "They call you an angel here. They know you've come to save them. Besides, you look the part."  
  
"Should I take that as a compliment, flattery, or a direct come-on?" the hanyou panted as they rounded the last corner and ran out onto the shores.  
  
Twelve dozen longboats waited on the snowy shore to reach them, each packed with a handful of Shinobi tribe members. The largest boat was in front and had already been pulled up onto the sand while several more boats still made their way slowly towards the island. Halfway up the beach stood Yokozuki, grinning, flanked on each side by two of his soldiers. Chitsuko recognized Jin's former tribe leader, Risho, on his right side, along with Ruka. At his left shoulder stood Jin and Touya, both masters looking extremely unhappy.  
  
"Surprise!" Yokozuki said jovially.  
  
"Turn back now," Suzaku growled, "or you'll regret it."  
  
"Suzaku, leader of the Saint Beasts?" the revolt leader inquired casually. "I thought you were dead."  
  
"Well that's too bad for you," was the angry retort. "You shouldn't trust rumors, they're not always correct. That is, afterall, why they are called 'rumors'."  
  
Those bright orange eyes narrowed slightly. "Wouldja look at the mouth on this one.." He nodded towards Suzaku, affirming that he words were a kind of joke. Nobody laughed.  
  
"As much as I'd love to stand here and watch you two verbally attack each other, I've got an island to defend." Chitsuko raised her sword, holding it out rigidly in front of her, her feet planted firmly in the snow.  
  
Yokozuki sighed emphatically. "That's what I TOLD them, you see! I told my men, 'If we go to Koorime, Hanyou Kohana is going to pop up and dramatically declare that she is going to defend to the island, and that we'll have to fight one-on-one to the death!'" He turned towards his soldiers in the boats behind him. "Didn't I tell you, boys?"  
  
There was a loud chorus of agreement from the Shinobi, and when Yokozuki turned around again he was grinning. Only then did he make the sarcasm in his voice more blunt. "Oh, whatever shall we do?"  
  
Chitsuko made a low growling noise in her throat and shifted her stance. "We fight, that's what."  
  
"Well.." Yokozuki rolled his eyes upward as though he were thinking. "If I do that, then I can't supervise the destruction of the island.. I'll tell you what."  
  
Shoving his hands in the pockets of his brown tunic, he marched up the beach towards Chitsuko, looking more innocent and bored than ready to demolish an entire race. Bewildered by not daunted, the kitsune trudged out through the snow to meet him, her sword still tightly gripped in her right hand.  
  
When they were both a foot away from each other, Yokozuki leaned in close to her. "I'll tell you what.. I've got some leadership crap to do so my men don't screw up. If you can hunt me down and attack me, I'll fight you. But that's ONLY if you can find me." He winked. "Otherwise I'll have to continue the pillaging and plundering on my own. Must collect those hiruiseki, you know.." The youkai playfully pinched the girl's cheek before straightening up and taking a step back.  
  
Slightly alarmed at how calm he was, Chitsuko rubbed her abused cheek and stared up at the youkai. She felt digusted at how tranquil he could be right before attempted mass genocide. The screams of the Koorime had died down behind her; Mayaka and Shura must have safely gotten them all to the other side of the island. Now if she could only keep the Shinobi away from the western shore..  
  
Suddenly a cool feeling tickled her mind. Quickly she cleared her head and turned all her thoughts to blanks. I can't let him know where they are.. They're fate depends on me.. The frown on the revolt leader's handsome face let her know that her ploy had worked. To punctuate her satisfaction at slowing down his plan she held up her hand with her middle finger extended, grinning wickedly up at him.  
  
"A smile that could only belong to a fox.." Yokozuki said before raising both his arms and shouting to his men, "READY?"  
  
Loud cries and cheers echoed across the shore as the Shinobi climbed from their boats, brandishing frightening-looking weapons and smiling evilly. That is, all of them except for Ruka, Touya, and Jin. The three of them remained somber as Yokozuki walked back to them and slung one arm around the female youkai's shoulders.  
  
"ATTAAAAACK!"  
  
The Shinobi flooded up the beach and into the first village, screaming and yelling to one another as they began their mad search for Koorime. Suzaku grabbed Chitsuko and pulled her out of the way before two large, obese youkai nearly trampled her to the ground. The two companions fell flat on their backs, watching the wave of demons run past them into the interior of the island, the only thing on their minds being the torture of the Koorime and the countless amount of hiruiseki that would come from it.  
  
When they all had passed, they scrambled to their feet, searching for Yokozuki and his four top soldiers. But to their dismay the leader was gone; while they were done he had taken the opportunity to flee the beach and get as far away from Chitsuko as possible.  
  
"I will find him.." the girl murmured as they made their way back to the icy streets. "I will.."  
  
Right away cries of dismay rose up around them. Quickly they ducked into a doorway as several tribe members ran out of the nearby houses looking angry and frustrated.  
  
"There's no one in here!" one shouted.  
  
"Not here either!"  
  
"Where'd they all go, eh?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
They continued their way down the street without seeing Chitsuko and Suzaku. When the coast was clear, they two companions slipped out into the street once more, running at top speed towards the western half of the island.  
  
The minute they were in the open they were spotted. Several ugly looking youkai with pallid skin and glimmering black eyes blocked the road in front of them. Two of the ones in front held out their hands, an eerie orange light forming around their palms. Chitsuko and Suzaku had barely skidded to a halt when they let loose a spray of spirit energy in the form of beams of the light.  
  
Chitsuko was no stranger to dodging. Nimbly she maneuvered herself around the beams as they flew at her, slowly but steadily making her way towards the group. Beside her Suzaku was doing the same, as well as collecting yellow spirit energy around his hands for his own attack.  
  
"C'mon girlie, you can't win 'em all!" one of the youkai taunted.  
  
A smirk lit up the kitsune's face and her eyes sparkled dangerously. "Exactly. Which is why you're going to LOSE!"  
  
She now stood directly in front of the pack of youkai. Vaulting herself into the air, she spun around once and came down hard on the one who had taunted her, her foot smacked him square in the face.  
  
Purple blood spurted from his broken face and he fell to the ground. At once another youkai pounced on her. Chitsuko reversed the direction of her sword's blade and jabbed it under her arm and backwards. There was a sickening moan from the demon behind her and a spray of purple drenched her from behind. Yanking back her sword and whirling around, she struck another in the chest just as he made ready to bring down a mace onto her head. Jumping out of the way of the falling mace, she twirled her sword in her right hand and slashed it across the neck of another youkai, completely severing his head from his body.  
  
"OOOOOOH YEAH!" she cried jubilantly as she darted to the side, a sphere of energy nearly missing her left shoulder.  
  
"Chitsuko!" Suzaku shouted as he jumped into the air close to the youkai. "MOVE!"  
  
Running in a circle around the group, she reached the Saint Beast just as he let loose his own attack in the form of a yellow arrow crackling with electricity. "STORM OF TORMENT!"  
  
The arrow shot at the group and exploded as it hit the ground. The demons were engulfed in a blinding yellow light, screaming at the crackling energy burnt their bodies to ash.  
  
"Come on, we need to find Yokozuki," Suzaku said hurridly as he grabbed Chitsuko by the wrist and pulled her down another street.  
  
Suddenly a loud cry echoed from the opposite side of the island.  
  
"SPIRIT ARROW!"  
  
The air over the opposite shore glowed bright green and there were several feminine screams.  
  
"No! They've reached the western shore!" At once Chitsuko picked up her pace, causing the Saint Beast holding her arm to stumble and let go. But a second later he had caught up to her and they were speeding down the icy road side-by-side once more.  
  
Another cry arose and Shinobi poured from the nearby conjoining streets, all of them running towards the kitsune and the Saint Beast.  
  
"Oh DAMNIT!" Suzaku yelled, forming another arrow in his glowing hands.  
  
"Hold on, I got this one.." Holding out her free hand, Chitsuko called upon the power of the kitsune youko inside of her. A cluster of rose petals and thorns manifested themselves in her hands, and as Suzaku stared she tossed them into the air.  
  
"What good will THAT do?" he inquired.  
  
"Just keep running.." she replied. The petals and thorns were swirling around them as fast as they were running, creating a protective barrier around the two companions. One by one the Shinobi attempted to cross through the storm of petals, and one by one they were sliced and cut mercilessly.  
  
"Heh.." Suzaku said. "Those are some rose petals.."  
  
"Each one is as sharp as a razor blade and does twice as much damage. They cut anyone who comes near them.. Except me of course."  
  
"Where did you learn that?"  
  
Chitsuko grinned. "Youko Kurama."  
  
Suzaku's eyebrows shot up. "He a friend of yours?" he asked, interested.  
  
The smile softened slightly, and as they rounded another corner she replied, "My boyfriend."  
  
Suddenly a bright orange light flared up in the sky and a scream was heard nearby. Chitsuko turned around in time to see flames on the northern side of the island, great tongues of fire licking the cloudy gray sky.  
  
"NO!" It was all the girl could say. Her voice caught in her throat and she screamed, saying no words but making a loud enough noise to call several more Shinobi to their attention.  
  
As they ran towards them, Suzaku attacked again. "STORM OF TORMENT!" While the youkai screamed in agony, he turned to Chitsuko. "You go find Yokozuki. I'll go see to that fire!"  
  
Chitsuko nodded, then ran off towards the western shores without another word.  
  
A dozen more youkai attacked her on her way, but by now she was beyond fury. Anyone who stood in her way she cut down, leaving nothing but bloody corpses and an atmosphere crackling with power in her wake.  
  
"SPIRIT ARROW!" Another lime-green light show in the west.  
  
"Almost there.." she panted to herself. "Almost there.."  
  
"Chitsuko!"  
  
"SPIRIT GUN!" On a reflex, Chitsuko whirled around, shooting blindly in the opposite direction at whoever had called her name. She halted in her tracks, squinting into the light of her own attack until it died down. When it cleared, a heavily-muscled demon lay on the ground, his face covered by a mass of shaggy red hair.  
  
"JIN! NO!" Running forward, she stooped down next to her friend, hauling his upper body into her lap. "Jin, say something! I'm so sorry, holy crap, I'm so sorry.."  
  
The youkai smiled weakly and opened his eyes. "'S alright, Chit-chan.. You were just.. doin' yer job.."  
  
"Oh Jin.." Chitsuko sobbed as her friend sat up, her eyes filling with tears. "I can't do this much longer.. Jin.." She took a shakily breath. "I wanna go home.."  
  
"'S alright, lassie.." The youkai leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the girl, rocking her gently back and forth. "Shhhh.. Don't cry now.."  
  
"JIN! CHITSUKO! WATCH OUT!"  
  
Someone threw himself over Chitsuko and Jin, knocking them to the ground just as a wave of fire shot over their heads and slammed into the icy ground several yards away.  
  
"Are you alright?" The kitsune was pulled up into a sitting position. She nodded, then looked up into the pale blue eyes of Touya.  
  
The Ice Master smiled sadly at her. "That's good." He glanced at Jin. "We're doing all we can to keep the rest of the Shinobi from destroying the island." Turning towards the fire, he held out on hand and blew over his palm. A spray of ice crystal danced through the air and covered the fire, turning it into a block of harmless ice.  
  
"Thank you.." Chitsuko sniffed as the two Shinobi helped her to her feet. "Have you seen Mayaka or Shura?"  
  
"Mayaka is with the Koorime. We've stationed Ruka over there; she's got a barrier up around the western shore, keeping the Shinobi away from the Koorime. No one can breach it."  
  
The kitsune sighed with relief. "And Yokozuki? Where is he?"  
  
"Right here."  
  
The three of them turned around to be pinned under the bright gaze of Yokozuki. He glanced oddly at Touya and Jin, one slender green eyebrow raised. "You're helping her?"  
  
"We're old friends," the Wind Master said quickly, putting an arm around Chitsuko's shoulders.  
  
Touya did the same. "What you're doing is wrong, Yokozuki. Don't you understand? Rebellion, attempted genocide.. You're already in serious trouble with Reikai and Lord Enki. Don't you know what this could lead to?" By now the Ice Master was shouting. "This could lead to a full-out WAR!"  
  
"Hm." Yokozuki put his hands on his hips. "Sounds like fun!"  
  
Suddenly Jin and Touya became stone-still beside Chitsuko, both of them staring straight ahead at Yokozuki, their bodies rigid and tense. A soft whimper escaped the Wind Master's lips, and both of them fell over backwards, landing with two thuds on the icy ground.  
  
Alarmed, Chitsuko spun around dropping her sword, falling to her knees. Both of them were laying motionless on the ground, their eyes wide and staring blankly up at the sky. Jin's mouth remained open, and Touya looked as though he had been in excruciating pain. Quickly the kitsune felt their wrists for a pulse. Both of their hearts were beating steadily.  
  
"What did you do to them.."  
  
"Hm?" Yokozuki looked down at her.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" In an instant the girl was on her feet. She reached back into her hair and formed her Rose Whip, gripping it tightly in her hand as she glared angrily at the revolt leader. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"  
  
"They're sleeping," he replied calmly. "Like I said, if you ever found me, we would fight one-on-one. I promised, you know." He bowed gentlemanly and held a hand out to Chitsuko. "Shall we dance?"  
  
The hanyou scrunched up her face in anger. "BASTARD!"  
  
She lashed out with her whip. Yokozuki avoided the blow, and instead the thorny weapon hit one of his wrist gauntlets. He laughed and began to run away from her backwards, beconing with his hands for her to follow.  
  
"Catch me if you ca-an!" he sang out.  
  
The kitsune growled and ran after him, her attacks striking him again and again on one of his gauntlets as he blocked her blows. Angrily she increased her attack speed, and soon the two were flying down the streets towards the southern end of the island at a breakneck pace.  
  
"You're so adorable when you're angry!" Yokozuki called out as they began to ascend the steep cliff on the southern shore.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Chitsuko lashed out one more time, whirling her whip around at an angle that no one could avoid.  
  
The whip struck the youkai in the side. With a loud cry he stumbled backwards, grabbing hold of the whip as he did do. Both Shinobi and hanyou fell to the ground, the former now bleeding profusely near the hip.  
  
"Good one.." He felt his side, still holding on tightly to the whip.  
  
Chitsuko didn't respond. Looking out over the cliff, she could see the entire island. Her gaze settled on the western shores. The surviving Shinobi had been driven off the island and into the water. She could just make out the form of Ruka, standing beneath a dome of transparent lavendar, the entire population of Koorime crammed safely into the barrier.  
  
"Yes.. Ruka..." Chitsuko smiled.  
  
Suddenly the barrier began to flicker, and a scream rose up from the Koorime.  
  
"She can't keep it up forever.." Yokozuki said quietly. "She'll grow weak, the barrier will fall, and my men will collect the hiruiseki."  
  
"NO YOU WON'T! HYAAAAA!"  
  
A small kimono-clad body flung itself at Yokozuki. They fell grappling to the ground, the smaller figure beating the Shinobi's chest with its fists, sea-green hair swishing in the air as the figure fought wildly.  
  
"KAERU?!" Chitsuko rushed forward to help the little Koorime.  
  
"I won't let you hurt my people!" the little one cried, smacking Yokozuki across the face.  
  
Yokozuki took the blows calmly. "Aren't you brave?" he cooed before clamping his hands around Kaeru's waist and throwing her off of him. She sprawled on the ground several yards away near the edge of the cliff.  
  
Quickly Chitsuko ran towards her, but Yokozuki was quicker. Sticking on leg in her path he managed to trip her. She fell, skidding in the snow until she came to a stop beside Kaeru.  
  
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Yokozuki asked, exasperated.  
  
Chitsuko raised her head, her eyes once more seeking out Ruka's barrier. It was flickering more frequently, and the Koorime were starting to panic. She watched as Ruka ran outside of her own barrier in an attempt to quell the rage of the Shinobi. But she failed; two of the immediately pounced on her, and screamed as they began to beat her mercilessly with what appeared to be a wooden club.  
  
"No.." Chitsuko pushed herself up onto her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. "Ruka, you did your best.. Now I'll do mine!"  
  
There was a small explosion of golden light. The air crackled with energy as the light soared into the air and wrapped itself around the entire island, forming a dome of spirit energy, a new barrier between Shinobi and Koorime. A wisp of the energy ran from the barrier to Chitsuko, connecting the girl to her expended energy. As she stood up the link grew thicker and the barrier grew brighter.  
  
Yokozuki's eyes narrowed. "You really don't know when to give up.." Then, smirking maliciously, he held out one hand towards Kaeru, his palm facing the young Ice Maiden.  
  
Kaeru, groaning, was hoisted to her feet by an unseen force. She fought against it, but to no avail. "Chit..suko.." she managed to choke out.  
  
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Chitsuko raised her whip once more and ran at Yokozuki. "SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"  
  
Yokozuki murmured, "Cry for me, little Koorime.." then flicked his wrist in the direction of the cliff.  
  
With a wail Kaeru was thrown into the air and out over the edge of the cliff.  
  
Not a word was spoken as Chitsuko turned around, abandoning her whip, and ran to the edge of the cliff. Kaeru, still screaming, was plummeting down towards the churning icy water. Her heart pounding, her mind racing, the kitsune glanced back at Yokozuki one last time, her eyes shining with contempt, before turning around and diving off the edge of the cliff after Kaeru.  
  
Chitsuko caught up with Kaeru halfway down. Reaching out, she took the little Koorime, who had passed out from fright, into her arms and held her tightly against her chest. She felt her barrier weakening as she fell, so she did the only thing she could think of doing in such a desperate situation.  
  
Chitsuko released all of her energy, then broke the tie between herself and the barrier. A golden sheen surrounded the island, impermeable to the Shinobi and safeguarding the Koorime from their evil ploy.  
  
The kitsune was halfway to unconsciousness when they hit the icy water. It swallowed them, letting them sink in several feet, before pushing them back up to the surface.  
  
Chitsuko never got a chance to see if Kaeru had awakened or not. Something struck her across the head, a thick red liquid splashed into her eyes, and the world dissolved into pain and total blackness. 


	17. Chapter 16 Capture and Escape

Is it just me or does Chitsuko fall a lot? ^^;;  
  
There's about four chapters left in Liability, plus the epilogue. At the rate I'm going, I may be able to finish before I go back to school next week! Wish me luck! =^^=  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------  
  
Chapter 16: Capture and Escape  
  
Chitsuko's inner vision gave way and she found herself floating in a void. She reached out with her energy, only to discover that she could not. She was still unconscious; she had used all her power to form the barrier around the island, and now she herself was rendered helpless. The kitsune struggled to pull her body and spirit together, but it was no use. She couldn't feel her limbs.  
  
"Chitsuko." It was Karasu. Although her vision remained black, she could still hear his voice, floating to her from a far-off distance. "I cannot stay with you for long, but do not worry. Help is on the way. I do not know how much good it will do, but we have to get you out of there. You're in no condition to fight."  
  
"Kara...su...." she heard herself say.  
  
But his presence had already left her, and the void closed in around her.  
  
* * * * *  
"WAKE UP!"  
  
Something hard hit Chitsuko's chest. With a start her eyes shot open and she reached for her chest. But her hand did not move. Blinking several times to clear her vision, she looked down at her body.  
  
Her arms, legs, and waist had been tied to a frame of fallen tree branches with thick braided rope. She struggled to pull herself free, but the rope was tied too tightly. She could already feel it cutting off the circulation in her hands and feet. She shook her head to rid the blurriness from her eyes, and yelped when she looked down again.  
  
The frame of branches was connected to the top of a high pole about twenty feet off the ground. She was tied to a stake, an apparent victim of a Makai-style crucifixion.  
  
Her eyes wandered to the area around her. Three more stakes identical to hers had been arranged in a circle around her own. Mayaka, Kaeru, and Ruka were tied to them, their heads bowed against their chests, unconscious. Mayaka looked relatively unharmed, except for the ragged condition of her clothing. The little Koorime's kimono had been torn, and her hair had fallen out of its red ornament. Her exposed skin was red and raw-looking. Ruka looked the worst out of all three: she was cut and bruised on every inch of her body, and the yellow cords that served as her only means of clothing were nearly gone, save for a few that still covered her waist and chest. Beyond the circle of stakes lay a sea of tents; the camp of renegade Shinobi.  
  
Something warm and wet slid into Chitsuko's left eye, and she blinked rapidly to clear it. She could just make out a light crimson color as it trickled into the corner of her eye and down her cheek.  
  
Blood. Another head wound. That would explain how I lost consciousness, she thought sardonically.  
  
"HEY! FOX GIRL!"  
  
Chitsuko moaned groggily and shifted her gaze downwards. Standing at the base of her stake was a youkai with greasy black hair that hung around his chin. His skin was a sickly milky shade and his eyes were beady and black. She recognized him as the Shinobi member called Risho. He stood with his arms folded impatiently over his chest, and in one hand he held a rock.  
  
"Do I have to throw another one?" he called up at her.  
  
The hanyou's chest still stung from the blow of the first rock. She answered by making a hacking noise and spitting down at him, her bright eyes narrowed with anger. She aimed well; the glob of saliva hit her target square in the face.  
  
"I always hated your kind..." Risho said, wiping the spit from his small, pointed nose. "Always so wild and untamable..." He glanced disgustedly at her one more time before moving on to the next high stake where Kaeru was tied. Gripping the other rock, he hauled back and threw it up at the Koorime. It hit her hard in the stomach and her body twitched, a small cry escaping from her tiny form.  
  
"Wake up, Koorime," Risho growled. "We can't get your hiruiseki if you're asleep."  
  
There was a small sob from the Ice Maiden, and a small shower of pearly white gems fell to the ground. The Shinobi kneeled down and scooped them up into his hands.  
  
"Good girl..."  
  
"Leave her ALONE!" cried Chitsuko, still trying to free her arms and legs from their bonds. "You've caught me, you don't need hiruiseki anymore!"  
  
Risho sighed and turned to look up at the kitsune. "Oh yes we do. We need leverage if we're going to get into Ningenkai without a big show."  
  
"Ningenkai?!" The girl's eyes widened and alarm seized her.  
  
"You already know of our profession," Risho said calmly. "We're human hunters. So naturally we hunt humans. As it happens, humans are very trusting and compassionate creatures. So vulnerable, so gullible. Yokozuki has arranged a trade-off with a group of ningens that seems to be rather fond of youkai. We give them what they want, and they give us what we want. They want hiruiseki and an Ice Maiden to fuel their steady desire for the gems. We want to slip into Ningenkai unnoticed."  
  
"What do you want in Ningenkai?!" Chitsuko demanded, not bothering to hide the fear in her voice. For she already knew the horrifying answer to her question...  
  
"Total slaughter... of the entire human race..."  
  
"NO! You can't do that, I WON'T LET YOU!" The kitsune tugged at her bonds once more, panic overriding all other emotion. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"  
  
The expression on Risho's face flickered for a moment. Malice was replaced by uncertainty, and finally by mute sorrow. He lowered his eyes to the ground and made his way past Chitsuko's stake.  
  
"Not one of us remains who isn't under his command. There is no one left to counteract him. We know what we are doing..." he said quietly. "And yet we are powerless to keep ourselves from doing so..." Chitsuko watched as he silently walked away, disappearing into one of the tents set up closest to the ring of stakes.  
  
And now she finally understood.  
  
The bulk of Yokozuki's followers, mainly the Shinobi Masters and tribe leaders, had not followed him by choice. He had used his manipulative telekinetic powers to coerce them into joining him. Not one of them wished to be doing what they had done: ransacked an island, seized the palace of a powerful demon lord, and torn the league of Shinobi tribes apart and soiled their reputation.  
  
"You don't want to do this..." Chitsuko's words floated out into the open air. "You... You don't have to..."  
  
There was a loud yell and two figures stumbled out of one of the nearby tents. Jin and Touya fell to the ground, and the taller Wind Master rolled onto his back, gripping his left arm, which was bleeding heavily near his biceps. He yelled again just as Yokozuki emerged from the tent behind him. Touya struggled to push himself up on his knees, but Yokozuki strode over to him and kicked him in the side, causing him to fall over once more with a cry of pain.  
  
"Here in the Shinobi," the revolt leader said calmly, "one does not go against one's leader. That has been your fatal mistake."  
  
Unable to watch her friends in pain, the kitsune cried out, "LEAVE THEM ALONE YOU BASTARD!"  
  
At once the revolt leader's attention was shifted to her. He smiled. "Oh good, you're awake." He sauntered towards the girl's stake, still smiling. "Lord Enki has made a decree against us, you know."  
  
"Lord Enki?"  
  
"Yes. If we do not cease our current behavior and sue for forgiveness, he will have ever single one of us killed."  
  
Chitsuko was about to fire a nasty retort at him, but she immediately bit her tongue. She couldn't say it serves them right; she now knew the truth behind Yokozuki's followers, the truth behind her friend's behavior and perhaps the behavior of the dozens of Shinobi she and her companions had killed in defense on Koorime...  
  
She suddenly remembered the island. "Koorime... What happened to Koorime?"  
  
The renegade chuckled, although he scowled angrily. "Your barrier held up. We were unable to get anywhere near the island, even after we caught you. When we left it was still standing."  
  
"They're safe..." Chitsuko breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the other stakes once more and immediately grew worried once more. "Shura.. Suzaku... Where are they?"  
  
"We were unable to find your male friends, Hanyou Kohana. However, the Koorime and the little ningen girl proved easy to catch. And those traitors among my ranks were the easiest of all..."  
  
Grabbing Touya and Jin by their shirts, he dragged them over to the bottom of Chitsuko's stake. He pushed their backs against the stake and pulled a coil of braided rope from a sack on his hip. Using this he tied them securely to the base of the stake, then stood back to admire his work.  
  
"You're wounded badly enough. You won't escape..." He tilted his head back to look up at Chitsuko. "Light the fire."  
  
"FIRE?!"  
  
There was a spark, and suddenly the grass around the circle of stakes was ablaze with white fire. The tongues of flame licked at the edges of the circle, dangerously close to the wooden stakes. Chitsuko could feel their heat from her lofty position, increasing her alarm.  
  
Yokozuki nodded. He looked pleased. "We're going to have a barbecue. You're invited for dinner!" The revolt leader turned around, laughing hysterically at his own bad joke.  
Chitsuko gritted her teeth and reached deep inside of her for her well of spirit energy. She cried in dismay when she found she could only hold on to a small trace of it.  
  
The cool sensation of Yokozuki's power entered her mind again. "You used up most of your energy in the barrier around Koorime," he said as he walked away.  
  
"Damn...." the kitsune muttered, letting her head fall forward against her chest.  
  
"The.. Darkness Flame.."  
  
The murmur came somewhere off to Chitsuko's left. She looked up to see Mayaka's form twitching slightly on her stake. She lifted her own head high enough to reveal her honey-colored eyes, glassy with pain.  
  
"Use.. the Darkness Flame.." she whispered.  
  
The hanyou's eyes widened. "The flame.."  
  
"Use it.. Burn it off.. to cut your bonds.. and get through the fire.."  
  
"The Darkness Flame.. I can still fight!" Quickly she looked around; Yokozuki was still only a few yards away, but he was retreating fast. If only she could get his attention, lure him into her mind again, then maybe she would have a clear shot at him, stun him just long enough to free herself..  
  
"HEY!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the field where the Shinobi were encamped.  
  
The revolt leader paused for a moment, then turned slowly around to face her. His expression was one of obvious annoyance. He did not answer her call, but merely stared at her, waiting for her to continue.  
  
Chitsuko opened her mouth, but only a small groan emitted from it. At a sudden loss, she frantically she searched her mind for something to say to stall something, something that would drive him to try and sabotage the privacy of her thoughts once more..  
  
And then it came to her. A grin spread over her lips and she opened her mouth wide to sing.  
  
"A time ago in fair Makai  
  
An ambitious youkai dwelled.  
  
He rounded up his very own crew  
  
And countless innocent ningens slew,  
  
But his thirst was still not quelled."  
  
At the base of the girl's stake, Jin lifted his head to gaze up at her through unfocused eyes. "That's our girl.." he murmured softly as Chitsuko continued her lively chant.  
  
"His master past he soon forsook  
  
His own tribe leader too.  
  
His weakling way of controlling all  
  
His lackies was bereft of gall;  
  
With his mind he told them what to do.  
  
Not one to fight his own battles  
  
His numbers decreased faster.  
  
So he forced others to join his ranks,  
  
To their own wills be no thanks,  
  
That cold unfeeling bastard."  
  
By now the rest of the camp had heard the girl's voice. They left their tents to watch their master as he approached the ring of fire, his bright orange eyes fixed coldly on the singing girl strung high above the ground.  
  
Seeing her plan was working, she raised her voice and sang proudly her final verse.  
  
"Not one true friend he ever had,  
  
And his reign is soon to pass.  
  
He went through his life far too proud,  
  
With his ears quite deaf and his head in the clouds  
  
And a stick right up his ass!"  
  
"ENOUGH!" Yokozuki's eyes narrowed to slits and his power flared up around him.  
  
Chitsuko felt the familiar cool sensation enter her mind, and at once she let forth the Darkness Flame that slept within her.  
  
Yokozuki yelled and fell backwards, his aura fading as he reeled in shock from the blast of the Flame. Two of his followers ran to aid him, kneeling beside him and helping their dazed leader sit up.  
  
Keeping the Flame burning steadily around her, she tugged on her bonds once more. This time their yielded easily as the Flame burned them away. She kicked off from the stake and leapt nimbly to the ground a few feet away.  
  
She was almost there..  
  
"Chit-chan.."  
  
Hearing Jin call her, she turned around and ran back to the two Shinobi Masters still lashed to the stake. Reaching out, she yanked at the rope tied around them, but the braids didn't budge. Frustrated, she leaned down and ripped at them with her teeth. But they still did not give way.  
  
"Chit-chan.." Jin murmured again. "Run.. Don't worry about us.. We'll..find a way outta here.."  
  
The kitsune's eyes began to fill with tears. "Jin.." She swallowed hard. "I'll save you guys.. I promise.."  
  
"I know you will.." The Wind Master smiled at her, then nodded in the direction of the white flames. "Now go. We're all countin' on ya.."  
  
Chitsuko nodded, then, without thinking twice about it, turned and ran blindly into the ring of fire.  
  
The Darkness Flame surrounded her served as suitable protection as she made her way through the flames to the other side. As she neared the edges, she felt the Flame leaving her body; she was using up the last of it. Pumping her legs harder, she burst through the other side of the ring just as the Darkness Flame completely burned away. She could hear shouting on the other side of the ring and beyond, in the Shinobi camp.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"She's getting away!"  
  
"FIND HER!" Yokozuki's voice. He had finally overcome the impact of the Flame.  
  
But now she was home free.  
  
Chitsuko turned and sped away into the opposite direction as fast as her legs could carry her.  
  
Suddenly five figures approached through the surrounding forest. Four were running, one of them very small and another very tall and broad- shouldered, and one was flying through the air, large black wings beating against the eerily beautiful starry sky.  
  
"KURONUE!" the girl shouted. "RINKU! CHUU! SHISHI, SUZUKI!"  
  
"CHITSUKO!" Kuronue reached her first. As soon as he touched ground in front of her he immediately threw his arms around her in a hug.  
  
"No time for that now, Kuro-kun." Without asking the chimera's permission the girl circled around him and climbed onto his back, startling him considerably.  
  
"Chitsuko, what are you doing? We have to go back and fight the.."  
  
"There's no way we can do it alone. There's too many of them!" She wrapped her arms around Kuronue neck and pointed out over the forest. "Take me to Mukuro's."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll direct you as we go along. Let's GO!"  
  
"If you say so..." A second later the two of them were hovering in the air, the chimera preparing himself for the flight of his life.  
  
"Chitsuko!" Suzuki yelled as the four other youkai ran up to them. "What are you doing?"  
  
"We're going to Mukuro's to get reinforcements. Jin, Touya, Mayaka and two of my friends are back there. Help them!"  
  
"But Chitsuko...!" Shishi protested.  
  
The kitsune didn't answer. Her and the chimera were already soaring over the forest towards Mukuro's palace, panic and desperation speeding their flight. 


	18. Chapter 17 Prelude To A War

Things are sure starting to heat up.. Will Chitsuko reach Mukuro? Will she return in time with reinforcements? Will Suzuki and the others save Jin, Touya, and the girls? And more importantly, can Yokozuki be stopped? O.O  
  
This lovely little poem, which I absolutely ADORE, was written by Lobo- chan:  
  
"And the cavalry comes forth,  
  
To protect and help dear Chit-chan.  
  
But the Kitsune is blinded by the will to help her friends,  
  
As we all know she can."  
  
Arigatou Lobo-chan, it's kawaii! And is describes our Kokitsune perfectly! =^^=  
  
Now on with the.. war?  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 17: Prelude to a War  
  
"In all of Makai's history, I don't think anything like this has ever happened.." Kuronue said as they neared Mukuro's castle. The granite palace looked deserted from the outside. Not one demon trained outside its walls and not a soul could be seen guarding the gate.  
  
On his back, Chitsuko shuddered as the cold fall wind whipped past them. "I didn't know we were so closee to the castle.."  
  
"Karasu told us five days ago that you had been captured on the island of Koorime. What the hell were you doing there?" the chimera asked as he began to descend.  
  
"So THAT'S what Karasu meant by 'help is on the way'," she thought aloud, smiling to herself. She thought over Kuronue's words again, then shrieked suddenly, "SIX DAYS?"  
  
Kuronue nodded. "Six days ago you were captured by the Shinobi on the island of Koorime. It took us four and a half days to finally find you. Makai's a big place, you know.."  
  
The kitsune sighed. "So much could've happened in six days.."  
  
"And it has. Have you heard Lord Enki's decree?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded. "The Shinobi must surrender, on pain of death."  
  
Kuronue touched down on the grassless ground before the gates. Chitsuko ran forward, her arms already extended, ready to push them open. Her palms had barely touched the smooth granite when the doors suddenly gave way and began to swing slowly inward.  
  
The girl stumbled and gave a yelp of surprise, and the chimera snatched her up and vaulted back into the air just as a wave of soldiers came through the gates. The two remained suspended above them as they watched them march out into the open plains, swords, maces, and other weapons in hand.  
  
In the center of the horde marched Mukuro, flanked by her highest officers. Hiei and Suzaku walked directly in front of her, the two youkai several feet apart from one another. Chitsuko pointed to them, and the chimera flew directly above them, dropping Chitsuko into the space between the two male youkai.  
  
Mukuro and Suzaku looked startled as the kitsune seemingly fell from the sky and began to march beside them. "What did I miss?"  
  
The Saint Beast smirked. "Just like the angel you're said to be.."  
  
Hiei did not looked surprised. He merely smirked and said, "There's blood on you face. Did you get hit in the head or did someone piss you off again?"  
  
"Both," was the short reply. The kitsune turned around to face Mukuro, walking backwards to keep up her pace with the other soldiers. "I take it you've heard Lord Enki's decree as well?"  
  
The woman nodded. "Shura and Suzaku here came by two days ago saying that you and Mayaka had been captured. They said they had heard Yokozuki say something about bringing you back to the Shinobi camp, so I sent my spies to find there whereabouts and assembled my troops. There's no way I'm going to stand back and watch the Shinobi fall because of an anal-retentive human-hating obsession of some deranged youkai."  
  
Chitsuko grinned from ear to ear upon hearing this. "Where is Shura, anyway?"  
  
"He headed back to his father's city to get soldiers of his own." Mukuro's visible light purple eye gazed out over her troops and the plains that lay between them and the enemy. "There's a fine line between a brawling revolt and a war. As of now, we're standing on it."  
  
The kitsune looked down sadly. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this.." A moment later she raised her head, stormy blue-gray eyes glittering fiercely. "I left a few more of my friends back at the Shinobi camp. The inventor Suzuki, the samurai Shishiwakamaru, and the fighters Rinku and Chuu. I told them to get Mayaka and the other captives to safety, but I can't breathe easy until I see it through myself. I must go..."  
  
Mukuro nodded leave to the girl. "I understand. I shall meet you on the field of battle soon."  
  
Chitsuko smiled softly. "Thank you, Mukuro." Then she tilted her head back and called, "KURONUE!"  
  
A second later the chimera had scooped her back up into his arms and they were flying out over the plains of Makai once more, the stars and glowing moon their beacons of light.  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was still dark when Kuronue and Chitsuko approached the ring of fire. They settled on the side opposite the Shinobi camp, hidden by the white flames that danced around the circle of stakes. Six more had been set up, and it came as no surprise to Chitsuko to see Suzuki, Shishi, Chuu, Rinku, Jin, and Touya strung up on them. All six youkai looked to be unconscious and were bleeding in various places.  
  
Chitsuko's heart twisted painfully in her chest. It hurt seeing her friends like this. Quickly she turned to Kuronue, pointing up at the nearest stake, which held the Koorime Kaeru at its top.  
  
"We need to get in there. You untie them, and I'll catch them and make sure they're alright."  
  
"What about the fire?"  
  
The kitsune scrutinized the white flames for a long moment. "This looks like fire created through the use of spirit energy. I'll find a way to extinguish it.."  
  
"You better," the Kuronue mumbled, wrapped his arms around Chitsuko's waist and springing into the air once again. Once he was over the wall of fire, he set the girl down on the singed grass before flying up to free the prisoners.  
  
The first one was Kaeru. Glancing in the direction of the Shinobi camp and seeing nothing but a sea of tents, he quickly untied her bonds and let her fall into his arms. Then he brought the little Koorime down to Chitsuko and handed her over before flying up to Mayaka's stake.  
  
Chitsuko inspected Kaeru for wounds. Other than several long scratches on her arms and a large purple bruise on her stomach where Risho's rock had hit her, she was okay. Once she was done with the Koorime, Kuronue handed her Mayaka. Her human friend was in a similar state; a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine. Ruka was bruised all over from the beating she had endured, and Touya's entire right side was black where Yokozuki had kicked him. Shishi, Suzuki, Rinku and Chuu were scratched up, and their state of unconsciousness appeared to be the cause of one of Yokozuki's mind-rapes.  
  
But Jin's condition was by far the worst. She inspected him as Kuronue settled near the other five, double-checking for pulses and heartbeats. Not only was his upper left arm wounded deeply and his shoulder dislocated, but his stomach was bruised badly and his chest was decorated with a criss-cross pattern of slashes, each slash a thin line of dried blood. Some were still bleeding. There were bruises along the Wind Master's neck, as though someone had tried to strangle him, and a river of dried blood over his right eye leading up into his hairline indicated a possible head wound.  
  
Feeling she had recovered enough of her energy to at least try and heal him, Chitsuko placed her hands on the youkai's lacerated chest. Suddenly his body twitched beneath her palms, and a hand laid itself on hers.  
  
She moved her gaze to Jin's face, where her gazed at her through glossy, half-lidded eyes. "Chit..ko.." he whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Save your strength," she said, brushed a clump of bright red hair off his cold forehead. "You'll need it to get out of here."  
  
He smiled sadly. "I'm not goin' anywhere.."  
  
The kitsune's eyes widened and a pang of realization shot through her. "You.. can't.."  
  
"I've done all I can.." the Wind Master said softly. "It's all up to you now..to stop this from getting'..outta hand.."  
  
"It's already out of hand! Mukuro and Yomi both have soldiers on their way here. Lord Enki has made a decree against the Shinobi. All of Makai has been dragged into this stupid rebellion!" she cried, fighting back tears. "Innocent lives, both youkai and ningen, are at stake here.. Including those of my friends.." She grasped Jin's bloodied hand. "I'm not letting go of you now.. None of you. Not now.. not ever.."  
  
The redheaded youkai reached out with a shaking hand to wipe a stray tear off her cheek. "Stop tryin' ta be noble, Chit-chan. Some things, you gotta accept them. You gotta make some sacrifices. We knew, the Shinobi, all of us.. We knew that stickin' with Yokozuki even when we knew it was wrong was a sacrifice. We knew that sooner or later, Yokozuki would be challenged, and until then, we'd hafta try to slow him down, lessen the damage he tried to do to this world." He took a shaky breath, then coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "He is..far too powerful.. We knew from the start, Chit-chan.. that many of us would die.."  
  
"But you're not going to!" Chitsuko let her tears flow freely now. "I won't let you die.."  
  
"Do me.. a favor.." The Wind Master reached slowly in the pocket of his puffy white pants and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Hold on ta this for me. When you get back to Ningenkai, show it ta Urameshi. He'll know what ta do with it.."  
  
Chitsuko took the paper from his outstretched hand and slowly smoothed it out on her thigh. It turned out not to be a piece of paper, but a photograph. It showed a girl that looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, slender with soft, deep brown eyes. Her long brown hair was tied up into a high ponytail, save for her bangs and two thin strands that hung down on either side of her face. She was wearing a magenta-purple school uniform that Chitsuko recognized as the uniform for Meiou High, along with a pink apron tied around her waist. She sat on a stool in front of a counter strewn with cooking untensils and she held a flat metal cookie sheet, smiling sweetly at the camera.  
  
The kitsune ran her fingers over the picture, tracing the outline of the girl's form.Wondering who this girl was, she turned over the back to discover a message written on it in flowing feminine handwriting:  
  
"To Jin, from the wielder of the cookie sheet who can still kick your butt.  
  
You're always in my heart.  
  
Love, Satsukiame."  
  
Beneath it was scrawled a hastier note in big, rushed handwriting that could only belong to the hyperactive Wind Master. The message was simple:  
  
"I love you Kia."  
  
Chitsuko looked from the picture to the Wind Master. "Jin.. Who is this.. Satsukiame?"  
  
Jin chuckled, then coughed again, more blood escaping through his lips. "What a lass she is.. Not quite sure where she is right now.. When you and Urameshi get that to her.. you'll meet her.." Sorrow and regret passed over his darkening features. "Tell her.. that I'm sorry.."  
  
"I'm not telling her anything, because you're going to tell her yourself!" Chitsuko struggled to pull the heavily muscled Wind Master into a sitting position. "I won't let you.." She choked, cradling the youkai's torso in her arms; she couldn't finish the terrible sentence. "I won't let you.."  
  
Suddenly the heat of the flames around her vanished. Looking around, she saw that the ring of white fire had been extinguished, and a circle of Shinobi warriors stood in its place. 


	19. Chapter 18 The Decisive Battle

I find it better to keep the author's note miniscule for this chapter. There's really nothing I can say..  
  
Enjoy.  
  
~Lexi-chan~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 18: The Decisive Battle  
  
Chitsuko bit her lip at her nervously glanced around the Shinobi. Looking back at Kuronue and her unconscious friends laying on the ground, she saw that the chimera was just as alarmed as she was.  
  
They were surrounded. There was no way out.  
  
There was a chuckle, and Yokozuki made his way through the ring of his followers to stand before Chitsuko. He gazed down at her with his bright orange eyes, a satisfied smirk on his face. "So you thought you could sneak away and get help without me noticing?"  
  
The kitsune didn't answer.  
  
"Your little friends her were no match for me." He tapped his temple with one tanned finger. "I thought you had learned by now." He sauntered around her, his eyes scanning over his other victims sprawled out on the ground. "A war is just what we need about now to prove that the Shinobi mean business."  
  
"You mean YOU mean business," Chitsuko spat at him.  
  
The revolt leader whirled around to stare at her again, this time thoughtfully. "WE mean business.." he corrected.  
  
The hanyou shook her head. "You blind idiot.. Don't you understand? You know perfectly well that you forced the Shinobi to join you. You used your powers to submit them to your will. I bet there isn't one person here who is following you by choice.."  
  
The Shinobi in the circle around them began to shift anxiously.  
  
Bravely, Chitsuko continued, hoping that she had struck a nerve. "You have no real followers; just a bunch of mindless minions who you claim you need to fight for you! But what you really want is to see them die in your service, just to prove to the world that you have people who WANT to follow you. But they're not dying FOR you, they're dying BECAUSE of you!" She clutched the limp Wind Master tighter to her chest. "It's people like Jin here that see just how horribly wrong you really are! You can't start a war just because you feel like it!"  
  
The tall youkai laughed deep in his throat. "Perhaps you are the one who is blind, Kohana." He crossed over to her and crouched down, bringing his face only inches away from hers. "Tell me, Kohana.. What is my profession?"  
  
Those stormy blue-gray eyes narrowed. "You're an asshole."  
  
"Come now, I'm being serious.." He gripped her chin gently and leaned forward until his forehead rested on hers, his eyes staring directly into hers. "What is my profession?"  
  
"Human hunter." The girl reinforced her disgust by spitting in his face, the close range giving her an advantage.  
  
Yokozuki didn't even flinch. He calmly closed his eyes and pulled back, wiping the spittle off his face with the sleeve of his tunic. "You're really not the submissive type," he said smoothly. "I like that.. Makes for a more interesting game.."  
  
"This isn't a game anymore," the girl replied as he stood up. "You've brought it too far for it to be playtime.."  
  
"All of it intentional." Smiling once more, he stepped around her to stoop beside Kaeru, who lay motionless in the charred grass. He reached a hand out to touch her, but another hand grabbed his wrist forcefully.  
  
"Don't you touch her.."  
  
Yokozuki looked up to meet the cold, livid gaze of Kuronue.  
  
The revolt leader's eyes widened. "You.." He pointed at him accusingly, springing back onto his feet and backing away. "But..But you were KILLED!"  
  
"And thanks to this girl," he nodded towards Chitsuko, "I'm un- killed," he retorted as he stood up. "You were always this juvenile in your methods.. Don't you ever learn? Or better yet, THINK?"  
  
The kitsune looked back and forth between the revolt leader and the chimera. "You two..know each other?" And then she remembered; Yokozuki had been a friend of Zoutarou, who had been partners with her father, who had both undoubtly met Misao, Youko Kurama AND Kuronue..  
  
Her head swam with confusion and she didn't ask her question again.  
  
"So now you're this little girl's slave?" Yokozuki chortled. "I didn't know children were a fetish of yours, chimera.."  
  
"She's my friend," Kuronue growled through clenched teeth. "And she's not a child. You've seen what she's capable of! She wiser than the rest of us!"  
  
Yokozuki folded his arms over his" chest. "You were always so pathetic, Kuronue.."  
  
He snapped his fingers and the chimera let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, twisting and turning in agony. Chitsuko screamed and ran to his side, trying desperately to calm him down. But it was no use; he was too far deep into his world of pain to respond to her. Inching away slightly from his writhing, screaming form, she whirled on Yokozuki.  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?" she cried.  
  
Yokozuki merely chuckled, then pointed at the chimera. Chitsuko turned around to see gashed appearing on his body, dripping blood and looking quite deep. The kitsune leapt to her feet and filled with anger over the harassment of her friends, threw herself at the revolt leader.  
  
He caught her in his arms and shoved her backwards. She tripped over the unconscious Touya and slammed into one of the wooden stakes. The revolt leader ran at her and circled his arms around her, pinning her to the stake and preventing her from escaping.  
  
She squirmed violently under him and he laughed. "You want to fight?" he cooed playfully.  
  
"You know it," Chitsuko replied.  
  
"This is the decisive battle, you know. If I win, the war goes on.."  
  
"I know.. And I won't let it happen!"  
  
She raised one leg and kicked the revolt leader hard in the stomach. He loosened his grip on her and she slid down the stake and out of his grip. Running back towards Kuronue, who now lay still on the ground, she surveyed the Shinobi that encircled them.  
  
They all stood, stone-faced and motionless, watching their leader battle an eighteen year old girl. They were looking at her now, they're expressions blank. But from them radiated an aura of sadness, of despair, that Chitsuko found it hard to ignore.  
  
She addressed them. "What are you all standing around here for? You know as well as I do that this is wrong!"  
  
Chituko turned again just as Yokozuki delivered a blow across her crown of her head that knocked her to the ground. She shakily pushed herself up onto her knees, feeling warm, fresh blood trickle through her hair and down her forehead. She was beginning to feel dizzy; the previous head wound she had received on Koorime had not been treated, and bloodloss was starting to get to her. Willing herself to move, she stumbled to her feet with a groan.  
  
"You're feeling tired," Yokozuki said sweetly, mockingly. "Why don't you lay down for a while?"  
  
He held his hand out in her direction and made a dismissing motion. Chitsuko was plucked off the ground and hurled towards the opposite side of the circle. As she flew through the air it felt as though razor blades were nicking her skin. Dozens of small cuts opened up on her body from invisible sources, causing more rivers of blood to form as she hit the ground and skidded to a halt before the line of Shinobi opposite Yokozuki.  
  
She tried to get up, but found she couldn't move. The revolt leader sauntered up to her, smiling placidly to himself; he was obvious the cause of her sudden paralysis. He leaned down and ran one finger along Chitsuko's arm, collecting a small amount of blood on his fingertip, then brought the tanned digit to his mouth.  
  
He shivered with excitement. "Oooh, the stories WERE right!" He grinned down at her. "Once I'm done playing with you, your blood will prove most excellent in quenching my thirst."  
  
Chitsuko gritted her teeth against her body's pain and hauled herself to her feet once more. All eyes were on her as she faced Yokozuki. Straightening herself up to her full height, her entire body trembling with the effort, she glared at him, her eyes shot with a dangerous silver light that had not been there before.  
  
"It seems as though your bark is worse than your bite, Kohana," Yokozuki sneered. "Where is the legendary power the stories speak of? Where is the spiritual strength of the infamous hanyou?"  
  
Soaked in her own blood, not sure if her human body could take much more, Chitsuko opened her mouth and said softly, "You really are a fool..."  
  
The revolt leader raised one eyebrow. "Haven't we had this talk already?"  
  
"You're blind..." the kitsune murmured. Then, turning to the Shinobi gathered around the circle of stakes, she cried, "You're all blind! You understand what's happening, but you don't see that the way out is right in front of you! Break the holds he has on your, free your minds, block him out!" Desperating crept into her voice. "You need to stop holding back and FIGHT HIM!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Yokozuki shouted, pointing threateningly at Chitsuko.  
  
It felt as though a knife had been driven between her eyes. At once her head exploded with pain and she fell to her knees, gripping the sides of her head. Her entire body went suddenly cold. She could feel the deadly chill in the very depths of her soul, and she screamed as Yokozuki's voice entered her mind.  
  
You will not win...  
  
Yokozuki turned to his followers, motioning to the kitsune moaning and crying on the ground. "Do you want complete control? Finally achieve demon superiority over the unworthy human race? Or do you want to end up like her?"  
  
A whisper of content rose up among the throng of tribesmen, and one of them stepped forward.  
  
It was Risho. "The girl is right," he said. "The reason for our blindness is you. We have no intentions of going through with your plot of genocide. We've put up with the orders, but now it's gone too far.."  
  
Yokozuki opened his mouth to yell a reply, but from the other side of the ring came a rallying cry. The Shinobi turned to find it source, their leader looking somewhat alarmed.  
  
Across the field, two hosts of soldiers were assembled, a thousand youkai to each army. In front of one stood Mukuro, flanked on either side by Hiei and Suzaku. The other was lead by Shura and his father, Yomi, with their three generals directly behind them.  
  
Chitsuko raised her throbbing head to stare in their direction. From across the field, Shura saw her, on the ground and in pain.  
  
Turning to his father, he murmured, "Chitsuko hasn't managed to escape... We need to get her out of there, and fast. She's seen enough fighting..."  
  
Yomi nodded. "You really do care for her, don't you?"  
  
Shura didn't answer. If his father hadn't been blind he would've seen the bright pink blush on his face.  
  
Yomi understood his silence. "Go to her. I can feel her spirit energy from here; she's badly wounded and her power is being drained from her body."  
  
At once Shura began his mad dash across the field. Yokozuki saw his fast approach, and quickly turned to his followers.  
  
"What are you standing around for? Cut him down!"  
  
No one moved.  
  
The leader's bright orange eyes narrowed. "Fine then..." Running past his followers and into the open, he summoned his spirit energy into his hand and sent a blast of white energy from his palm.  
  
Shura didn't see it in time. He was blown back towards his father's host, ground into the dirt by the force of Yokozuki's energy. Yomi cried out when he sensed his son's fall, and raised one arm to signal his army.  
  
"Weapons ready! FORWARD!"  
  
At once his host of youkai ran forward, weapons brandished and glowing with spirit energy. Hiei nudged Mukuro's side when he saw this, and the woman immediately took the hint.  
  
"FORWARD!" she shouted, and her soldiers flooded onto the field to join Yomi's host. Mukuro, Hiei, and Suzaku ran before them, running forward to run beside Yomi and his generals.  
  
The blind lord raised one arm, a sphere of energy collecting around it. "FOR MAKAI!" he yelled.  
  
Mukuro did the same. "FOR NINGENKAI!"  
  
Hiei held aloft his katana, the blade glinting in the waning moonlight. "FOR THE THREE WORLDS!"  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Yokozuki cried, now showing signs of panic. "ATTACK!"  
  
He flicked his wrists towards his horde of followers, and at once their bodies began to move against their wills. Then ran forward with him, pulling out weapons and gathering their spirit energy into their hands, ready to fight. But their faces remained blank, almost sad; they no longer had any control over what they did.  
  
They were merely puppets, and Yokozuki their puppeteer.  
  
Chitsuko could only watch in horror as the two armies ran to meet each other on the field. The pain in her head had begun to subside, but it was still strong enough to blur her vision. She forced herself to her feet and looked frantically around for her fallen friends. They had begun to wake up, their faces registering shock as they saw the oncoming fight ahead of them. The kitsune staggered over to them as quickly as she could, falling flat on her face with a moan upon reaching them.  
  
"Chitsuko-chan, are you alright?" Kaeru asked as Kuronue lifted the Koorime to her feet and Mayaka and Ruka helped the hanyou up.  
  
Chitsuko shook her head. "I'm not, but matters is that you guys are." She straightened herself up and took a deep breath. This cleared her vision slightly and she was able to help Rinku onto his feet. "Are you okay?"  
  
Suzuki nodded. "We are, but... Jin..."  
  
The Wind Master still lay on the ground, his breathing coming up short. There was a gurgling noise in his throat and his wounds continued to bleed.  
  
"I'll take care of him," Kaeru said quickly, kneeling down beside him and placing her hands on his chest and stomach. Soft, mint-green energy radiated from her hands and into the youkai, seeping into his battered form and caressing his wounds. "I have just enough strength to heal him..."  
  
"Thank you... Kaeru..." Chitsuko turned to look in the direction of the battle and nearly died on the spot at what she saw.  
  
The dark sky was lit up with explosions of spirit energy. The clanging of weapons filled the air, along with inaudible screaming and shouting that pierced the girl's ears like arrows. The Shinobi, Mukuro's and Yomi's soldiers had met on the field of battle and were fighting to the death.  
  
"NO!" Chitsuko shouted, pulling away from Mayaka and Ruka. "I... We... Somebody has to stop them!"  
  
Someone came sprinting like lighting over the field in their direction. Hiei, his Jagan glowing fiercely, sped over to them, holding his bloodstained katana in one hand.  
  
"Hiei..." Chitsuko breathed.  
  
"This battle could go on for days, or until everyone is dead," the Jaganshi said quickly. "I'm always ready to fight when something valuable is at stake, but I find this battle to completely and utterly unnecessary."  
  
The kitsune nodded. "I know. But Yokozuki is controlling them. If we destroy Yokozuki, his power will be destroyed along with him, as will his hold on them."  
  
Hiei gaze at her sternly. "And who will be the one to do it, Kokitsune?"  
  
Ten pairs of conscious eyes fixed on her. Chitsuko took a deep breath, straightened her posture once more, and said softly, "I knew from the start it would end this way..." She gazed out over the battlefield, where many were fighting and still more were falling as they did so. "I was assigned by King Enma to put a stop to this revolt... And I must see my job through..."  
  
The Jaganshi nodded, then turned and ran back towards the battle. Chitsuko turned to Kaeru and asked, "How is Jin doing?"  
  
"He should be fine," the little Koorime said, "but he won't be able to fight..."  
  
"I'll stay here with her and make sure she and Jin don't get trampled or anything." Kuronue settled himself beside the Koorime, flexing his wings. "But if anything happens, you can bet I'll be out there by your side in an instant."  
  
Chitsuko smiled gratefully, then turned to the others. "Ready?"  
  
Mayaka, Ruka, Touya, Shishi, Suzuki, Chuu, and Rinku all nodded, looking at the girl with pride and newfound hope.  
  
"Right then..." The kitsune turned her eyes back to the battle. "Let's go..."  
  
At once they were off, following Hiei's path into the center of the battle. They were immediately separated, each one being drifting in a different direction as they began to fight. Chitsuko herself avoided coming in direct contact with any of the youkai. She was looking for one person, and one person only...  
  
"Looking for me?"  
  
Chitsuko whirled around to face Yokozuki, standing several yards away and grinning the same overconfident grin he always wore. But he now carried a long, double-bladed sword, and he held it up as he walked towards her.  
  
"Isn't this thing cool? I picked it up off of one of Yomi's dead soldiers. He didn't need it anymore, so I thought I'd put it to better use..." The grin became a malicious smirk as he broke out into a run and swung the blade at Chitsuko.  
  
The girl rolled out of the way just in time. She sprang backwards, her mind racing. Her Rose Whip would be no use against a double-blade, and he would easily be able to avoid her shimaneki seeds. Her Spirit Bomber and Spirit Gun would undoubtedly take the lives on the innocent youkai fighting around them. There was one option open to her, but it was something she had never tried before...  
  
Summoning.  
  
Back in Ningenkai, Kurama had worked with her on summoning. She had worked her way through summoning minor plants, such as bushes and weeds, to larger ones like trees in less than a month. From there he had planned to show her how to send out just enough energy to attract the more powerful plants, such as his old-time favorite, the massive ojigi, sensitized from being grown under a demon's energy. She knew the ojigi was far too hard for her, as was the bloodsucker plant she had watched Kurama summon on several training days. But there was one she had been able to summon all by herself, though not in the mammoth proportions she needed now...  
  
On one occasion she had been able to summon a venus fly trap the size of Hiei, large enough to eat a small child. She had kept it alive for only a minute, keeping her energy tied to it, then had let it go once she became familiar with how it felt to summon. If she let out most of her spirit energy now, she would be able to summon one large enough to crush a full grown man...  
  
Yokozuki came at her again and she quickly dove under his legs, running away from him in an attempt to stall for time. If only she could remember the incantation! "Agron tentagram..." she began, "sabbat...UNGH! That's the ojigi one..... I can't do that....." Quickly she jumped out of the way of Yokozuki as he came at her again, but this time he had aimed a little more carefully. His blade grazed her cheek, etching a shallow cut down her right cheek.  
  
The kitsune somersaulted to the side to dodge another attack, then sprang to her feet and shot past the youkai, just as the incanctation she needed came back to her. Turning to face him, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and summoned the energy needed to fuel the power of the incantation. It would take all the spiritual energy she could spare, leaving just enough intact to help her keep control of it.  
  
As Yokozuki came running at her one last time, the blade held high above his head, she let her energy go and recited her spell.  
  
"Hirohin akallabeth ninto rhimonine agonai!"  
  
A swirling white cloud of energy rose around her and then exploded as the ground beneath the battle began to break apart. Fighters from both sides ceased their battling and ran to safety towards the outskirts of the field. There was a flash of gold light and an ear-shattering screech, followed by a loud yell and a groan of pain. The demons watching kept their eyes fixed to the whirling cloud in anticipation. Had Hanyou Kohana finally executed a worthy attack, or had Yokozuki finished the hanyou off?  
  
Finally the mist began to clear. In the center of the field, where Yokozuki and Chitsuko had been fighting, a large plant now stood, it's long, thick roots now snaking into the ground. Its few leaves were brown and jagged at the edges. At the very top grew the head of the plant, a large venus fly trap with sharp teeth, an amber nectar dripping from the corners of its mouth. Dangling from its mouth, by the neck of his tunic, was Yokozuki, his orange eyes wide with something his followers had never seen before...  
  
Fear.  
  
At the very base of the massive fly trap stood Chitsuko, one arm stretched out towards the head of the plant, her hand open with her palm facing upwards. She stood motionless, looking like anything but the innocent girl she had been ten minutes ago.  
  
"Chitsuko..." Hiei said, daring to break from the circle of onlookers and approach her.  
  
She turned to look at him, and the Jaganshi froze. Her eyes were hard and cold with a different sort of glint that the usual spark of happiness they held. Her expression was stern, almost angry. Hiei took a step back from her, and she dismissed him by turned her face back up towards Yokozuki.  
  
"Are you still blind?" she asked in a voice that sounded unlike her own.  
  
Yokozuki, still looking anxious, chuckled. "You are truly your father's daughter..."  
  
His statement hit a nerve, and Chitsuko's eyes narrowed. "Elaborate."  
  
"Jekku always did have a nasty temper once he was crossed... There was no getting away from him once he was angry... And you're stubborn like him, too..."  
  
"Shut up," Chitsuko hissed. "You know nothing of my real father..."  
  
The renegade chuckled. All eyes and ears were now turned upon the two of them. "Oh, but I do. I knew him very well, you see. We were both part of the same group of demon hunters. In fact, I know exactly what happened to him, what caused his disappearance right before your birth..."  
  
"I don't want to hear it..." Half of her wanted him to continue talking, while the other half wanted to get it all over with and have her plant crush him.  
  
"Are you sure? You nasty little fox..." His orange eyes were shining with malice. "Do you know why people hate you? It's because you're half human, and a lover of humans and their world. They hate you because you're a nasty reminder of how ningens control everything, how they taint the world with their emotions like love and compassion..."  
  
"ENOUGH!" the kitsune cried.  
  
Chitsuko flicked her wrist upwards and the venus fly trap tossed Yokozuki high into the air. Everyone could hear the disgruntled youkai cackling as he rocketed upwards, slowing down slightly as his altitude increased.  
  
"By the powers granted me, I order this battle to stop at once!"  
  
Everyone turned. Standing at the edge of the field, just outside of the surrounding forest, stood a flock of armored youkai. In their midst stood a toweringly-large round demon with light red skin and a head of tight, light brown curls. He had a short beard and mustache of the same color and two white horns poking out of the crown of his head. Beside him stood a slender woman with shoulder length blonde hair. Both were dressed royally and seemed to be of elevated status.  
  
"Lord Enki!" someone cried out.  
  
Lord Enki's small eyes scanned the field. He glanced up, seeing Yokozuki hurtling downwards towards the open mouth of the venus fly trap. Following the stem down to the ground, his eyes finally came to rest on Chitsuko.  
  
He took a step forward and addressed her calmly. "I understand you are the one sent her by King Enma. If you feel it is fit to see through to your mission in this manner, then I grant you the permission to follow through."  
  
The kitsune stared at him, her face emotionless, her stormy blue-gray eyes glinting coldly. Still looking at him, she closed the fingers of her outstretched hand and tightened it into a fist.  
  
Above, Yokozuki, still laughing maniacally, fell into the mouth of the venus fly trap. The plant quickly snapped its mouth shut. There was a horrible squishing and cracking sound from its head, and then it opened its mouth and shut it again several times. Dark crimson blood spurted through its teeth and gushed from its mouth, raining down onto the still form of Chitsuko, drenching her in the revolt leader's blood as everyone on the field watched in awe and horror.  
  
In the east, the sun was rising, staining the horizon a bloody red-orange. The stars had all been extinguished, and the moon had sunk beyond their sight. After a long moment of silence, Chitsuko let her arm fall to her side. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, her face remaining devoid of all emotion as she spoke.  
  
"It's over." 


	20. Chapter 19 The Savior of Makai

Chapter 19: The Savior of Makai  
  
Lord Enki and Lady Koko's stronghold was a large, comfortable mansion- like structure made of brick and stone. The long corridor that branched off the entrance hall led to a dozen rooms, each spacious and high ceilinged with a large fireplace set in one wall. Libraries, lounges, and sitting rooms they were, decorated were various regal knick-knacks that gave them homey touches.  
  
It was in one of these rooms that Chitsuko and her companions now sat. Suzuki, Shishi, Chuu, Rinku, Touya, Ruka, Mayaka, Kaeru, Kuronue, and Jin, who was now back on his feet and with his left arm and shoulder in a sling, were lounging on various couches and chairs, the youngest youkai sitting on the floor in their midst. The kitsune herself was sitting in front of the fire several feet away, curled up with her knees hugged against her chest. She had been cleaned up and given fresh clothes, a long- sleeved white dress with a belt of braided silver. But despite her dazzlingly elegant attire, her face remained blank, devoid of all emotion, and she had spoken little since their arrival at the Makai Lord's home.  
  
The door opened, and Shura and Suzaku entered, each one carrying a trade laden with food and mugs of steaming tea. They set them down on a nearby table and everyone took what they wanted, devastatingly hungry after the vicious battle.  
  
"How is she?" Shura asked quietly, motioning towards the golden- haired girl sitting in front of the fireplace.  
  
"Hasn' spoken a word since we got 'ere a day ago," Chuu said, picking up a biscuit and shoving the entire thing into his mouth.  
  
The young master looked sadly at Chitsuko, then picked up a mug of tea and took a small sip. "Will she be alright?"  
  
"We can't answer that," Shishi said, resting his own mug in his lap. "She seems to have been traumatized by this whole affair."  
  
"Didn't you hear was Yokozuki was saying before she killed him?" Rinku piped up from his spot on the floor. "He was talking about her father!"  
  
"I never did like that piece of hellscum..." Kuronue murmured to himself aloud.  
  
All eyes were on him now. "Kuronue," Suzuki asked, "You knew Yokozuki, didn't you? Back before Kohana was born..."  
  
The chimera froze for a moment, then nodded. "I did. He was a bit more innocent back then. His only friend seemed to be Touhin Zoutarou, but the kid was absolutely enamored by Jekku, Kohana's father. He seemed to like Jekku well enough, even though he knew for a fact that he was human..."  
  
"I feel bad for the poor girl..." Touya said softly. "Between Zoutarou, Gouka, and Yokozuki...plus all this talk about her past..." His voice trailed off and he stared down into his mug of tea in silence.  
  
"So when did the two a' you get here?" Jin asked Shura and Suzaku, taking a bite out of a hunk of cheese.  
  
"Just this morning," Suzaku replied. "We heard that Lord Enki had taken you all to his palace, and soon after that Mukuro and Yomi received messages requesting their presences here. But with Lord Enki's consent, they had to decline; they have casualties to record and wounded soldiers to heal."  
  
"So my father sent me in his place," Shura said proudly.  
  
"And you were sent in Mukuro's place?" Mayaka asked Suzaku as she broke a sweet roll in two and handed half to Kaeru.  
  
Suzaku looked at them over the brim of his mug. "Not just me..."  
  
Just then the door to the room creaked open. In stepped Hiei, wearing his usual black cloak and white scarf, his Jagan uncovered. His eyes searched the room for a moment, then locked on Chitsuko. Without saying anything to the group on the couches, the Jaganshi made his way over to the girl before the fireplace, his soft footsteps making a light padding noise on the carpet.  
  
The kitsune looked up when she heard him approaching, the first time she had moved since they entered the room earlier than morning. Hiei kneeled in front of her, the heat of the fire at his back. The Jaganshi's ruby red eyes looked directly into her stormy blue-gray ones, holding her attention.  
  
"Chitsuko," he said quietly.  
  
The girl bowed her head to avoid his gaze, but the youkai caught her chin with one hand and tilted her face up again.  
  
"Chitsuko," he repeated. "What did I tell you a long time ago? How you're too soft? How you're too compassionate?" His normally sharp eyes held a softness in them. "How your willingness to sacrifice everything you have for your friends? You threw away nearly all of your spirit energy to create a barrier around the island of Koorime to protect its inhabitants, and you mercilessly slaughtered the leader of the Shinobi revolt to save those remaining innocents of both sides of the battle." He let go of her chin and sat back. "Your number one weakness..." he sighed. "But it seems as though your greatest liability...has become your greatest strength..."  
  
That was all it took. A flood of tears ran from the girl's eyes and down her face. "Hiei..." she whimpered, and threw herself into the Jaganshi's arms.  
  
Hiei gently put her arms around her, letting her sob into his cloak. He let his eyes slide shut as he listened to her cry, all of her pain and anguish flooding out with her tears. The others in the room could only watch in silence as the Jaganshi let her emotions come forth in the form of warm, salty tears.  
  
"I won't scold you for crying this time, Chitsuko..." he said softly. "You've been through enough..."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chitsuko stood outside the doorway to Lord Enki's great hall, wringing her hands apprehensively. She was about to be judged for the second time in her life. First it had been King Enma and the Reikai laws she had broken. And now it was Lord Enki, the ruler of Makai, who had watched her kill the disgruntled leader of the Shinobi revolt without mercy. She wonderd if Lord Enki was as lenient as King Enma; but then again she had rid the worlds of two very powerful and very dangerous youkai for him...  
  
...Would it be the same with Lord Enki?  
  
The carved wooden doors before her opened suddenly, startling the thinking kitsune. She straightened her posture and smoothed out her white dress before entering. The room beyond was just as warm and comfortable as the others, with a roaring fireplace of its own set into one wall. Opposite the doors, across a smooth stone floor, sat Lord Enki and his wife, Koko, in two plush crimson chairs set against the wall. Lady Koko was drinking from a small wine glass, and she smiled over its rim when Chitsuko walked in.  
  
Lord Enki rose upon Chitsuko's entrance and opened his arms wide in welcome. "Come on in." He grinned. "Don't be shy."  
  
The hanyou relaxed a bit as she made her way to the center of the room. It was then that she noticed the young girl standing beside Enki's chair. She wore a priestess's outfit; red dojo pants with a long white shirt and sandals. Her hair was cut around her chin, with one thick piece sticking up in front, and in her right hand she held a long wooden oar.  
  
"Hinageshi?"  
  
The young ferrygirl nodded and stepped forward. "It's been a long time, Chitsuko. From what I've heard in Reikai a lot has happened to you since we last saw you."  
  
Enki chuckled. "She has new for you as well. But first..." He took several steps forward, making his was slowly towards where Chitsuko stood. "I wanted to thank you for all you've done for Makai since my reign has begun."  
  
"Th-thank me?" the kitsune stuttered.  
  
"Of course! You and your friends have stopped a war from happening, and you've slain the disgruntled Shinobi Yokozuki!" He winked at her. "And that, my dear, is no small feat."  
  
"But.. But I... I killed him without mercy... I...I'm sorry you had to see that... That everyone had to see that...""  
  
"Oh, no worries about that!" He waved off her apology. "You did what had to be done. I'm surprised you had the strength to do it. I myself who have backed down, probably let him go, and then what a mess we'd be in."  
  
From her seat, Koko laughed. "It's a good thing you did what you did. That proves the strength of your character."  
  
Chitsuko blushed. "Thank you..."  
  
"Hinageshi came to me from King Enma several months ago. He sent me a most peculiar message, and I wish to straighten it out with you now, if that's alright..." The Makai ruler looked slightly bewildered as he gazed down at the hanyou.  
  
She nodded hesitantly. "Alright..."  
  
"Well, King Enma informed me, that you were Reikai's newest Spirit Detective. That much I know is true, but he also warned me of something else. He said that you were the infamous Hanyou Kohana that all the stories speak of, and that you were her reincarnation. Is that right?"  
  
Chitsuko nodded slowly. "Yes... My body was destroyed in Makai about five thousand years ago, and my spirit was sent to Makai's future and into the body you see before you now."  
  
"Ah, yes, the story of how Youko Kurama saved you... I don't think many youkai in this era know how you were reborn, but many do know that you were, and it puzzles them." He suddenly smiled jovially. "But I'm getting off track now..."  
  
Lord Enki now stood directly in front of Chitsuko. Koko set down her glass and left her chair to stand in front of her as well. Then, to Chitsuko's utter amusement and surprise, then both bowed in respect to her, genuflecting on one knee in front of her.  
  
A deep red blush rose in the girl's cheeks. "You don't have to do that..." she stammered. "Really, it's okay..."  
  
When they both straightened up, they were smiling. "It is with the deepest gratitude that I thank you, Hanyou Kohana, for initially saving both this world and the Human World. I name you the Savior of Makai."  
  
Realizing it would pointless to argue about it, the girl bowed to them and replied, "You are welcome. Anytime you need help, Lord Enki, I will be at your service in a heartbeat."  
  
Lord Enki's smiled broadened. "You truly live up to your reputation." Turning back towards the ferrygirl, he motioned for her to step forward. "Hinageshi, you have something to tell Kohana?"  
  
"Please, just call me Chitsuko..." the kitsune said sheepishly as Hinageshi ran forward to deliver her news to Chitsuko.  
  
The short ferrygirl stood up straight, feet together and her free arm at her side. Clearing her throat, she said in an official- sounding tone, "Chitsuko Ichihara, the reincarnation of Hanyou Kohana, your punishment has been fulfilled. You are hereby released from your duty as Reiki Tantei of Makai and will be returned to your home in Ningenkai as soon as possible, by official decree of King Enma himself."  
  
* * * * *  
"Lord Yomi," Hokushin said as he entered his master's office.  
  
Yomi turned around, remaining where he stood by the windows of his office-like chamber. "Yes Hokushin?"  
  
"Your son has returned... And he has brought someone with him who wishes to speak to you."  
  
"Send them in."  
  
Two strong presences flooded around Yomi, and the blind youkai smiled as Shura and Chitsuko entered his office. "Chitsuko Ichihara. What brings you back here?"  
  
"I've come to say good-bye, Yomi-san," Chitsuko said as Shura moved to stand beside his father, a somber look on his face. "I have been released from my duty of Reiki Tantei and am leaving for Ningenkai in two days."  
  
Yomi nodded. "Having you here in Makai was certainly a unique experience for all of us. You've helped us in more ways one person alone ever has."  
  
Chitsuko bowed to him. "I thank you for all the help and friendship you have given me, Yomi-san, Shura-kun."  
  
The young master stepped forward, taking Chitsuko's hands in his. "Are you sure you can't stay? We could use someone like you here... You know, just in case..." He sighed, then added softly, "I'll miss you."  
  
"I'll miss you too, Shura. I promise I'll visit the moment I get a chance to come back. But my friends need me back home. They've been waiting for me for almost three years now. I need to get back to them."  
  
Shura nodded sadly. "I still wish you could stay here with me..."  
  
Chitsuko leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she pulled she back, he was blushing furiously. She smiled warmly at him. "We'll see each other again."  
  
She stepped back. "I'll miss all of you. Yomi-san, Shura-kun, Hokushin-san..." she said, looked at each one of them in turn. "Thank you. And good-bye."  
  
And with that she left Yomi's office for the last time.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"It was wonderful working under you, Mukuro," Chitsuko said.  
  
Chitsuko and Mayaka, the former carrying her backpack over one shoulder, stood before Mukuro, Hiei, and the woman's host of soldiers.  
  
"Having you in my service was a pleasure," the woman responded warmly.  
  
Chitsuko nodded a thank you, then turned to Hiei. Ruby red hues met stormy blue-gray ones. Knowing she could not delay this farewell any longer, the kitsune stepped towards him.  
  
"Hiei-kun..." she said. "I want to thank you for everything you've taught me, everything you've told me, but I can't find the words for it..."  
  
"Then don't say anything," Hiei replied softly.  
  
"Are you ever coming back to Ningenkai?"  
  
The Jaganshi shrugged. "Probably not."  
  
"Hiei, don't make this harder for me than it already is. I hate good-byes..."  
  
The little youkai looked at her for a long moment, studying her features carefully. She wasn't the same girl he had met nearly four years ago, young, innocent, and oblivious to the power that lie locked within her. Now she was grown up, she had matured and grown wiser, all before his very eyes. His hard gaze softened, and he said only loud enough for the girl to hear, "Me too, Chitsuko-chan. Me to..."  
  
Fighting back her tears, the kitsune stepped forward and took the Jaganshi's face in her hands. "For always being there when I needed you..." Then she leaned towards him and lightly brushed her lips against his in farewell.  
  
Mukuro made a startled noise and smirked as the Jaganshi's eyes widened with shock. When Chitsuko stepped back, there was a light color in his face, not bright enough to be red but a dull, light pink.  
  
"I hope we see each other again, Hiei," she whispered as she backed up next to Mayaka.  
  
The human girl turned to Mukuro. "Thank you for taking me under your wing. This was my first time in Makai... And despite all the fighting and blood and stuff I'd say it was pretty enjoyable."  
  
The ex-Makai lord laughed. "Whenever you're in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by, you two."  
  
The two girls laughed, and Chitsuko let a few tears trickle down her face. "Thank you. I'll never forget you..." 


	21. Epilogue Job's Completion Homeward Bou...

WOOT! SHE'S GOING HOME!  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
Epilogue: Job's Completion - Homeward Bound  
  
Ayame came and took Mayaka back to Ningenkai the next morning. Hinageshi was due to arrive at Suzuki's soon to bring Chitsuko back. Reikai officials had to stagger the departures of the two girls due to the busyness of the other ferrygirls who brought spirits to Reikai shortly after their bodies' death.  
  
Suzaku had left to take Kaeru back to Koorime. Where he would go from there, he wasn't sure. Both Saint Beat and Koorime had big farewell to the kitsune, the latter thanking her endlessly for saving her homeland.  
  
Chitsuko was in her room back at Suzuki's, packing away the last of her belongings, when Rinku bounced in and settled onto her futon.  
  
"Do you really have to go?" he whined.  
  
"Yes," she replied with a smile. "I really need to get back. I miss my friends in Ningenkai, and I bet they miss me just as much."  
  
"Especially Kurama," the boy said with a small smirk.  
  
The hanyou halted in her packing, thinking over Rinku's words. She slowly reached inside of her shirt and pulled a folded photograph from her bra. She opened it to see her and Kurama, an older picture taken before her departure from Ningenkai, smiling up at her from the serenity of a park swing. Chitsuko smiled back at the photo, then folded it and tucked it away in her backpack between her katana and the bundle of food Suzuki had prepared for the girl's journey home.  
  
With a soft chuckle the girl stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and making her way out of her room and down the hallway for the last time. As she passed the living room and kitchen, seven figures followed her as she pushed open the front door and stepped onto the porch.  
  
"We'll miss you, you know," Suzuki said quietly. "It won't be the same without you around her for a while."  
  
"Tha's right, love." Chuu slung an arm around the girl's shoulder. "We'll be missin' yer woman's touch, most definitely."  
  
"I'll miss you guys too..." Chitsuko said softly, turning around to face them.  
  
"You take care of yourself now," Shishiwakamaru said, reaching out to ruffle her long golden hair one last time. "You'll have less trouble to deal with there than you did here. Hopefully none."  
  
Chitsuko gathered a sniffling Rinku into her arms as Touya said, "Tell everyone back in Ningenkai we say hello. And don't forget to brag about everything you've accomplished here," he added with a wink.  
  
The kitsune laughed. "I'll be sure to let them know that you're all okay, safe and sound." A look of sudden realization passed over her face and her hand dove into the front pocket of her backpack. "Oh, Jin, I almost forgot..."  
  
The Wind Master stepped forward, and the girl placed a small crumpled piece of paper in his hands. He unfolded it to reveal it as the photograph of the girl he had given to her before the final battle with Yokozuki.  
  
"So tell me, Jinny old boy..." Chitsuko said with a grin. "Who is this Satsukiame girl?"  
  
Suzuki, Shishi, Chuu, Rinku, and Touya began to chuckle. Jin blushed a bright crimson. "Well...I...uh..." Suddenly he rounded on Shishi. "Yer the same way with yer Kelsey! Now don't be raggin' me about my girl when ya gotchera own little sweetie to be all flustered about!"  
  
The samurai looked as though he had just been slapped across the face, and a blush began to creep into his own features as the group laughed harder. Kuronue, the only one who didn't understand what they all meant, took this opportunity to address Chitsuko privately.  
  
"I really will miss you..." he said softly. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here right now... Alive..."  
  
The girl smiled up at him. "I'm glad I ran into you that day in the bamboo forest." She giggled. "Isn't it funny, how things turn out sometimes? One minute I was running around blindly in the dark, and the next..."  
  
Chitsuko didn't get to finish. Kuronue swept her into a tight hug that nearly crushed her lungs, holding her against his chest in an affectionate embrace.  
  
"Thank you..." he whispered before letting her go.  
  
"We all thank you," Jin added. "You've saved the Shinobi, their reputation, and all of Makai.We're forever in your gratitude, that we are..."  
  
"Chitsuko-chan!"  
  
The eight of them turned as Hinageshi descended from the sky on her oar and hovered before the front porch. "Hello everyone," she said, nodded her head in greeting before turning to Chitsuko. "Well, are you ready?"  
  
The girl took a deep breath. "I'm ready to go home now..."  
  
"We'll miss you!" Rinku cried as Chitsuko set him down.  
  
"I'll miss you all too," she replied sadly as she climbed onto the oar behind Hinageshi. "You've all done so much for me since I came here..."  
  
Stormy blue-eyes met those of the seven youkai for one final time. "You've all be so good to me..." she said softly. "Thank you..." There was a bright twinkle in her eyes, along with a fresh flood of tears. "For everything..."  
  
Hinageshi's oar leapt into the air, and they were off. Chitsuko watched as down below, Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, Chuu, Rinku, Touya, and Jin ran out onto the lawn in front of the house. Kuronue vaulted upwards, beating his wings furiously until he caught up with them. Hinageshi gave out a startled little cry when she saw the chimera hovering beside the oar, but breathed a sigh of relief when she realized he had wings.  
  
Kuronue reached out and took Chitsuko's face in his hands. He closed the gap between them, letting his eyes slide shut as he pressed his lips lightly against Chitsuko's in one last kiss good-bye. The kitsune responded by closing her own eyes and smiling when they broke apart.  
  
The chimera remained hovering in the air as Hinageshi and Chitsuko sped away. The hanyou blew one last kiss in the direction of her friends, waved and shouted, "Thank you so much! I'll miss you!"  
  
The seven youkai stood on the lawn, waving back until their arms grew tired. They didn't go back inside until the girl's form had faded away into the distance, over the rolling hills of Makai and into the brilliant twilight beyond.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
  
Current Mood Music, highly recommended: Eternity from FFX-2  
  
Oh my God, Liability is over! ::sniffle:: But hey, I said I wanted to finish it before the New Year, didn't I? ;D  
  
Thank you to all of my reviewers and regular Kokitsune readers. This story wouldn't happen without your love and support.  
  
But I would like to thank one special person in particular. Kia-chan, a.k.a. Kaeru Soyokaze. A brilliant writer herself and wonderful friend despite the short period of time I've come to know her, she has been a major driving force behind my writing. She herself and her writing inspires me and gets me going. Without her, this story probably wouldn't have continued this far. So Kia-chan, I thank you for all the support and friendship you have given me. You are a talented author and wonderful person, and I love you for that. =^^=  
  
And by the way... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! =^^=  
  
The fifth and final saga of Kokitsune, titled Rememory, will begin to be posted as soon I can work on it. I have projects that need to be finished before my return to school and a neglected one-act play that needs to be finished for a class I'm taking. ^^:; I promise you, Rememory will be an emotional tale full of sorrow and happiness, anguish and joy, angst and drama. You will not be disappointed. ^^  
  
Love,  
  
~Lexi-chan~ 


End file.
